Victoria will send in the army to question people who have tested positive for COVID-19 as it battles to control an outbreak that claimed a record number of lives on Friday.

The state recorded six deaths overnight, the highest daily toll for the nation since the pandemic began. It also recorded 300 new infections, dropping from a record of 484 on Wednesday.

Victoria will deploy Australian Defence Force personnel to the homes of people who have tested positive and who have not answered telephone calls, in order to kick start the contact tracing process, Premier Daniel Andrews said.