Covid Victoria: 20 local cases as lockdown decision looms
Victoria has recorded 20 locally acquired Covid-19 cases in the 24-hour period before Wednesday as a decision on whether the state's sixth lockdown will be extended looms.
Of the latest cases, 15 are linked to current outbreaks and only six have been infectious in the community. The source of five cases remains unknown as health authorities scramble to investigate their origins.
It follows 20 local cases on Tuesday, 15 of which were infectious in the community. It is the first time in three weeks the state has recorded two consecutive days of 20 or more local cases in three weeks.
Daily cases peaked on Saturday when 29 local cases were reported.
The seven-day lockdown began at 8pm last Thursday with Health Minister Martin Foley saying decisions on its status were being made on an "hour-by-hour basis".
However with daily cases still in the double-digits and the majority not isolating during their infectious period, it's likely lockdown will be extended.
Regional Victorians were freed from lockdown on Tuesday.
Exposure sites continue to grow
There are some 12,000 people self-isolating after coming into contact with an infected case, while the exposure site list grew to almost 300 overnight, including a second housing tower in Flemington.
Of greatest concern to authorities is Caroline Springs Square Shopping Centre, where half of Tuesday's new cases contracted the virus, including two people who may have caught the virus through "fleeting transmission".
Late on Tuesday, health authorities instructed all staff who worked at the shopping centre between August 2 and 5 to immediately get tested and quarantine for 14 days.
Several bus and train routes near the shopping centre have also been listed as exposure sites.
A doctor who works at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital was also among the new cases.
However, the hospital said the doctor was not infectious while working at the hospital.
With AAP
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