Today Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews delivered his 66th consecutive daily coronavirus update, as he outlined the roadmap out of Melbourne's stage four lockdown.  

That's over nine weeks, every single day, in front of a swarm of journalists desperate for news to feed back to the 6.3 million Victorians whose livelihoods rely on what comes out of his mouth. 

For many, the Dan daily briefings dictate their day. 

WATCH: Here's today's if you missed it. Post continues after video.

How many new cases? Deaths? Is the lockdown working? How do we get past this?

But his exhaustion is becoming harder to hide, and easier to spot. 

"The Premier looks knackered. I'm grateful for his dedication, but if I had a colleague in emergency who worked so many days in a row, I'd order them home for their health, safety & performance. Nobody should criticise him having a day off," wrote emergency physician Stephen Parnis on Twitter back in August.

The Premier looks knackered. I'm grateful for his dedication, but if I had a colleague in emergency who worked so many days in a row, I'd order them home for their health, safety & performance. Nobody should criticise him having a day off. #springst #auspol pic.twitter.com/T7SLu4Pav6

— Stephen Parnis (@SParnis) August 14, 2020

A few weeks on, and he hasn't taken a break yet. 

Great work @DanielAndrewsMP You look exhausted, I hope soon you get to have a well earned break- I can’t remember a politician who has worked harder than you.

— CB (@cambruce01) September 6, 2020

Love him or hate him, you can't deny that Daniel Andrews is working exceptionally hard right now. 

He's the one being blamed, the one fending off 'non-believers' and 'anti-maskers', the one telling the rest of the country the grim new numbers, and the one begging for calm and compliance and patience. 

He's the face of Victoria's struggle, but at the end of the day he still goes home to a family living in lockdown. 

Two birthdays and working from home: Inside the Andrews house.

Daniel Andrews has been married to wife Catherine for more than two decades, with the couple sharing three children together, Noah, 18, Grace, 16, and Joseph, 12. 

They met when she was 24 and he was 26 at Monash University’s Catholic on-campus accommodation and married in 1998.

"We are just normal people, a normal family. We live in an ordinary home in a small street in suburban Melbourne," Catherine told The Herald Sun back in 2015, soon after her husband was first elected as premier. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dan Andrews (@danielandrewsmp) on Jun 9, 2019 at 11:29pm PDT

She is the director of The Torch, a Victorian organisation that supports Indigenous offenders and ex-offenders through Aboriginal art, and in July shared with the internet a glimpse into their life in lockdown.

"This man does not stop," Catherine Andrews wrote on Twitter.

This man does not stop. Thank you to everyone who is doing the right thing. We are in this together. #istandwithdan ❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/W63ANZix5n

— Catherine Andrews (@CathLAndrews) July 11, 2020

On Father's Day, Catherine Andrews again shared how hard her husband was working ahead of his announcement on the highly-anticipated roadmap out of stage four lockdown. 

"No time for a special breakfast around here this morning. Too much to do," Catherine Andrews shared to Instagram. "Our three are so lucky you are their dad. We are proud of you each and every single day."

View this post on Instagram

No time for a special breakfast around here this morning. Too much to do. Our three are so lucky you are their dad. ❤️❤️❤️ We are proud of you each and every single day. ❤️❤️❤️ To my dad who isn’t on social media, I love you and I miss you. ❤️❤️❤️ For anyone who finds this day hard, I’m sending you lots of love and a big virtual hug. ❤️❤️❤️

A post shared by  Catherine Andrews (@cathlandrews) on Sep 5, 2020 at 4:52pm PDT

As she explained to the Herald a few years ago, life in the Andrews home is pretty reminiscent of most Australian families: "Our kids go to local schools. We go to the local shops; there’s nothing special about us. Daniel just happens to be the Premier — that’s his job."

Melbourne is currently in stage four lockdown, which as the Premier announced on Sunday has been extended for two more weeks, and within that time there's been two birthdays in his family's house. 

Noah celebrated his 18th birthday on August 16, and Grace turned 16th the following day. 

"Couldn't be more proud," wrote Andrews on Instagram. 

View this post on Instagram

You only turn 18 once. Couldn't be more proud.

A post shared by  Dan Andrews (@danielandrewsmp) on Aug 16, 2020 at 3:10am PDT

View this post on Instagram

Another big milestone at our place – 16 today. We love you Grace.

A post shared by  Dan Andrews (@danielandrewsmp) on Aug 17, 2020 at 3:23am PDT

Noah, like so many other Australian Year 12 students, is coming to terms with no formal, proper schoolies or graduation as he prepares to take his end of year exams. 

"I know this hasn't been easy. My son Noah is studying hard for his upcoming SACs. It's hard on teachers, hard on kids, and it's hard on parents," said Andrews in August, while his state was only days into the tough new rules. 

Like the rest of the Victoria, he's still doing parent-teacher interviews via Zoom and has been cutting his kids' hair in the lounge room. 

View this post on Instagram

Next time I'll get the bowl out.

A post shared by  Dan Andrews (@danielandrewsmp) on Apr 21, 2020 at 2:35am PDT

On Sunday, he shared his personal circumstances, saying he understood the frustration with not being able to see family members.  

"I haven't seen [my mum] since Christmas. Like lots of other families … I want to get there this Christmas coming though. I want all of us to stay the course so that we can all have something approaching a normal Christmas."

Andrews grew up in Melbourne until his family's business - a milk bar - burnt down in a suspected arson attack when he was 10 years old. Afterwards, his family moved north east to Wangaratta.

Andrews' family was very religious and he spent his teenage years helping his dad run a Don Smallgoods franchise, dropping off goods to every butcher shop, deli, cafe and pub in the area.

Daniel Andrews' press conference on Sunday outlined the roadmap out of stage four restrictions. Image: Getty.  

On Sunday, the Premier explained that his personal background means he understands the frustration many small businesses are going through. 

"I know and understand, because I watched my parents do it, for every day of their working life, what it takes to build a business from nothing into a very successful business," he explained. "They then saw that wiped away through no fault of their own.

"I've seen that up close and personal. I worked in those businesses from the moment I was old enough to - I thought it was probably a bit early, but I was there doing what I had to do and that is my background."

He went on: "We will get these businesses open as soon as we can. And I'm disappointed too that I cannot have better news for people today."

Speaking to The Age, the Premier says it was his education and upbringing that instilled the values of compassion and caring in him which led to the "natural step" of a life in politics. 



The car crash that made headlines. 

In 2013, Catherine Andrews collided with a teenage cyclist in the Mornington Peninsula town of Blairgowrie, while the whole family was in the car. 

The 15-year-old they hit was left with life-threatening injuries and airlifted to hospital, but Catherine wasn't breath tested at the scene, which is standard protocol.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Dan Andrews (@danielandrewsmp) on Apr 20, 2019 at 10:42pm PDT

Andrews, who was the Victorian Labor Leader by that point, came under intense scrutiny for this apparent oversight, but insisted at the time: "If she had been requested to take a breath test I'm very confident she would have agreed to that and the reading would have been zero-zero."

The family of the boy also came out and expressed their dismay that the Labor Leader hadn't reached out to them, but Andrews insisted he was waiting for the police investigation to wrap up first. 

As the story continued to make headlines, The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) announced it would investigate the conduct of the officers at the scene, but not that of the Andrews. 

One of the longest serving ALP leaders

Daniel Andrews has been in charge of the Victorian ALP since 2010, making him one of the longest serving leaders, notching up two election wins in two attempts. The most recent of which, in 2018, was a landslide.

A bit of background on how he got here; He was elected to parliament in the seat of Mulgrave in 2002 at the age of 30 and became Secretary for Health. 

He went on to become Minister for Gaming, Consumer affairs, Multicultural Affairs, and Minister for Health before becoming Premier in 2014. 

Daniel Andrews in 2009, while Victorian Minister for Health. Image: AAP/Joe Castro.

One of the most significant recent successes from his term in office came in the form of the Voluntary Assisted Dying Bill which came into effect in 2019, making Victoria the only state to legislate voluntary assisted dying.

But his popularity and success as premier hasn't been without its challenges. 

In 2018, his party was found to have used taxpayer money to fund campaign workers during the election, and in 2014 he spent $1 billion dumping the Napthine government’s East West Link road.

But the coronavirus pandemic has proven to be Daniel Andrews biggest challenge yet, and it's come straight off the back of dealing with the 2019/20 bushfire season.

Victoria was also one of the states hit the worst by the recent bushfire season. Image: Getty/Luis Ascui.

From the very beginning, his government took a hardline approach with the state and was criticised for its "tougher" lockdown stances - in particular the refusal to let schools go back when the other states had started to allow it. 

Now, Andrews is steering the only state or territory in the country that is dealing with devastating COVID-19 numbers. 

In August, The Australian reported that senior members of Victoria's Labor Party expect Andrews to step down as premier before the next state election in 2022. But a few days later, Andrews denied the claims, saying he will be the state's Labor leader at the 2022 election. 

"This job is a great honour. It is something I am 100 per cent committed to, there is a lot more that needs to be done, a lot more that needs to be built," he said during one of his daily press conferences.

Dictator Dan or #IStandWithDan?

There's two camps when it comes to the Victorian Premier's leadership during the pandemic. He's either "doing a great job" or he's turned Victoria into a dictatorship. 

In April, Newspoll found 85 percent of Victorians thought he was handling coronavirus very or fairly well.

In May, his approval rating sat at 75 per cent (still better than every premier except for the leaders of WA and Tasmania).

By July, only 57 percent were satisfied, with the Premier's approval rating dropping 20 points in three weeks. 

LISTEN: To the stories from inside the lockdown. Post continues after podcast. 

Second lockdown around, many Victorians are just not coping - losing businesses, family members and a sense of normality. 

Despite decreases in popularity, there's still a dedicated fanbase declaring #IStandWithDan - and after weeks of not much movement, Victoria is finally recording daily COVID-19 cases below 100. 

Premier Andrews, of course, isn't exhaling just yet, as he prepares to lead Victoria out of their state of disaster. 

He's determined not to let his state down during its time in need. 

Feature image: Getty. 

This article was originally published on August 21 and was updated on September 6.

Sign up for the "Mamamia Daily" newsletter. Get across the stories women are talking about today.