'Far too many cases': Victoria's Covid-19 lockdown extended
Victoria has extended its lockdown as the state records 92 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, including 29 not yet linked to existing outbreaks.
"We see far too many cases today for us to seriously consider opening up later on this week," Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Sunday. The lockdown was expected to end on Thursday.
He said he did not yet have advice on how long the lockdown should be extended for, but promised to look at different options as soon as that advice was available.
Sunday's tally is the highest number of new cases recorded since early September 2020, as the state battled the second wave of the virus, and a jump from the previous day's local case figure of 64.
The 92 cases uncovered on Saturday came from more than 50,000 tests and take the number of active Victorian cases to 778.
One case was uncovered in Victoria's hotel quarantine system.
It comes as a new Covid-19 cluster crops up in the Port Melbourne area, with at least four cases tracked down to date.
Exposure sites for the "concerning" cluster include a Fisherman's Bend supermarket, car wash and auto warehouse.
Authorities warned of growing case numbers in Melbourne's northern and western suburbs, but said there was also evidence of undetected cases in bayside areas in the southeast.
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Meanwhile, an outbreak in Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley region on Saturday grew to at least 85 Covid-19 cases.
The outbreak has also spread to Echuca, after an aged care worker at the Wharparilla Lodge was infected by her partner.
Most of the 88 residents at the home have had both doses of the Covid-19 jab, while about 40 staff have been furloughed.
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