There are now more than 110 exposure sites across Melbourne and regional Victoria, while some 1,500 primary close contacts and 5,000 secondary contacts are in self-isolation.
More than six million Victorians have again found themselves living under stay-at-home orders after Premier Daniel Andrews implemented a snap five-day lockdown from midnight in a bid to stop the spread of the Delta COVID-19 variant.
There are now 18 active COVID-19 cases in the community associated with two outbreaks in Melbourne, both originating from NSW. "If you were authorised to work then, you will be authorised to work now. If you were closed then, you will be closed now," he said. "If you wait, if you hesitate, if you doubt, then you will always be looking back, wishing you had done more earlier.
Asked whether the imposition of the lockdown on regional Victoria was"fair", he said: "Look, nothing about this virus is fair. Nothing about the fact that this virus has travelled from Sydney is fair. That's just the reality we face. Of greatest concern are the now three cases linked to the MCG, which appear to be linked to an infectious Maribyrnong man who attended the match and was seated in the member's reserve on level two.
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