Victoria records four new Covid cases as Melbourne lockdown continues
Victoria has recorded four new local coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.
Two more cases have also been found in travellers in quarantine. The state's virus outbreak total is now 65.
The news comes as Melbourne enters its second week of strict lockdown restrictions despite two cases being deemed as false negatives on Thursday night.
The suspected "fleeting" transmission cases of coronavirus had been part of the justification for the lockdown extension.
The cases were a woman who authorities believed contracted the virus at a Metricon display home and a man who visited Brighton Beach Hotel.
They are “no longer considered confirmed cases”, the health department said in a statement.
Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino said despite the two false positives, there were no immediate plans to shorten Melbourne's lockdown.
"Our answer on that hasn't changed and nor should it," Mr Merlino said on Friday.
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Also on Friday, Acting Premier James Merlino said the Commonwealth would try to help Victoria meet an increased vaccine demand.
"I'm very pleased that the Federal Government has indicated that it will do all it can to meet the request of Victoria," Mr Merlino said.
Victoria wants to double the number of AstraZeneca doses, and an extra 100,000 Pfizer doses from mid-June.
Variant is 50 per cent more infectious
The health department has again stressed it still had concerns about how the virus is spreading in the current outbreak.
"Two fewer positive cases is welcome news, but we still have a further eight instances of transmission through passing contact between people who have not directly interacted with each other," it said.
"That's the one in 10 we remain concerned about.
"There are still five exposure sites where this has spread into the community through people who don't know each other ... and we need to be sure we have all those cases fully contained.
"We know this variant is 50 per cent more infectious that what we were dealing with last year."
Victoria to build quarantine hub
It has been announced Victoria and the federal government have reached agreement on a stand-alone virus quarantine facility.
Acting Premier Mr Merlino has confirmed he and Prime Minister Scott Morrison have signed a memorandum of understanding.
The site will either be Avalon or Mickleham and Victoria's Acting Premier James Merlino said either site would work.
"We are entirely comfortable where it will be," he said on Friday morning.
"I am very, very pleased that today we have an agreement.
"We are going to get cracking and deliver this facility."
The Victorian government put the proposal to the federal government in late April, with a site at Mickleham, north of Melbourne, as its preferred option ahead of Avalon Airport near Geelong.
Victoria wanted the Commonwealth to fund and build the 500-bed facility at a cost of $200 million.
It would chip in $15 million for design of the centre, and also operate it.
With AAP
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