Medical staff preparing vaccine doses inside the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, a Covid-19 Vaccination Centre. Photo / Getty Images
Victoria has recorded five new locally acquired Covid-19 cases overnight, bringing the Melbourne cluster to 35.
There were also two new cases acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to 45.
More than 56,600 test results were received over a 24-hour period.
It comes after the state confirmed four new cases on Thursday, down from the 11 new infections confirmed on Wednesday.
Speaking at Saturday's press conference, Victoria's testing commander, Jeroen Weimar revealed hundreds of pubgoers had been forced into isolation after being exposed to Covid-19.
Reported yesterday: 5 new local cases and 2 new cases acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 28, 2021
- 21,626 vaccine doses were administered
- 56,624 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco…
#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/p1ypBcSf3o
Five pubs and clubs have been identified as areas of concern, including Three Monkeys in Prahran, Somewhere Bar in Prahran, The Palace Hotel in South Melbourne, The Local in Port Melbourne and The Sporting Globe in Mordialloc.
So far officials have identified 500 close contacts across those venues.
"Just under 20 per cent of those have returned a negative test result and I'm expecting to see negative results coming in over the next few days for those 500 primary close contacts," Weimar said.
It was revealed on Friday that one of the new Covid-19 cases likely caught the virus while visiting a Melbourne pub.
A patron at The Sporting Globe in Mordialloc contracted the virus while at the venue with an infected person on the evening of May 23.
It's the first case not directly linked to households in the Whittlesea cluster or Port Melbourne's Stratton Finance workplace outbreak.
Officials refuse to confirm when lockdown will end
Victoria's Health Minister Martin Foley has refused to confirm whether the lockdown will end on time or whether it will be extended.
He said the Government has been "clear and upfront" that the restrictions were being constantly reviewed as new information about the outbreak came through.
"It is too early to make that announcement. Today is the second day of seven days," he said.
"We will continue to work through the evidence as it comes in, day by day, and keep Victorians informed and accountable through opportunities like this, through social media, through any other forms that can keep Victorians up-to-date with the evolving situation and more importantly, to keep Victorians engaged in what they can do to keep ourselves, our community, our state, safe."
Under the seven-day "circuit breaker" lockdown, residents are only allowed to leave their homes for five reasons, including getting food and supplies, authorised work, care and caregiving, exercise for up to two hours each day with one other person, and getting vaccinated.
A raft of restrictions around masks, gatherings, venues and businesses were also introduced and will be in force until 11.59pm on June 3.
Epidemiologist and World Health Organisation (WHO) adviser, Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, believes there could be a very real chance that the lockdown is extended.
She ABC's Weekend Breakfast the seven-day lockdown covers one incubation period, and towards the end of the lockdown they made decide they need to extend it for another seven days.
"In outbreak management it's normally two average incubation periods to get to zero and a really good idea of what is going on," McLaws said.
"A seven-day lockdown probably would've been okay, had it been fewer cases."
Despite the low case numbers, McLaws also warned residents to expect an "uptick" in infections in the coming days.
She said "it does take a bit longer" to understand how many of the now 15,000 known contacts have contracted the virus.
"But I expect an uptick. In Northern Beaches when there was an outbreak it took six days to get to 30. Then it continues because of a very close-knit community," she said.
"The same thing happens in Melbourne. It's a very close-knit community. It's a city that's easy to get around and sadly it is easy to spread. It's the city of most concern in Australia for explosions of cases."
Victoria warned 'it's not over yet'
While the recent low case numbers came as welcome news to Victorians, the state's chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton said they weren't out of the danger zone.
"It is not over yet. We can get 10 tomorrow, 20 tomorrow we absolutely have to recognise that there are thousands and thousands of close contacts still to go through the incubation period, who could become symptomatic," he said on Friday.
Sutton previously said any one of the 15,000 contacts they have identified could become cases over the next 14 days.
He also revealed the man known as case 5, believed to be the first case in the Whittlesea cluster, may have been out in the community for up to 12 days while infectious.
This is a major concern considering how quickly this virus has spread across Victoria in just a few days.
All of the cases in this cluster have been identified as the B.1.617 variant, commonly known as the Indian strain of the virus.
This strain is considered highly infectious and has been officially listed as a "variant of concern" by the WHO.
On Thursday, acting Premier James Merlino said that state has not experienced an outbreak of a strain that spreads this easily before, saying the time between catching the virus and passing it on "is tighter than ever".
"Our contact tracers are identifying and locking down the first ring, second ring, and third ring within 24 hours. They have never done that before," he said.
"That's the fastest our contact tracers have ever moved within a 24-hour period, identifying and locking down first, second, and third rings of cases. But despite working as fast as this, and my thanks to all of our contact tracers, this variant is moving faster still."
More than 150 exposure sites across Victoria
It comes as the state's list of exposure sites continues to grow, with more than 154 locations spread across Victoria.
Dozens of tier 1 locations were added overnight across the state. Anyone who has visited a tier 1 exposure site during the times listed must immediately isolate, get a coronavirus test, and quarantine for 14 days.
Officials have expressed concern about the growing number of locations on the exposure list, with many of the venues bars, pubs, clubs and gyms where people are indoors and either dancing, singing or otherwise exerting themselves within close proximity to others.
The spread in workplaces is also a concern, with one of the recent cases in Port Melbourne spreading the virus to at least five colleagues, before also attending a number of high-risk venues while infectious.
"That young man who had been to loads and loads of busy, indoor settings – clubs and pubs and restaurants – they are highly at risk," Sutton said.
"Indoors, without a mask and exerting yourself – shutting, singing – these are high-risk activities and we need to watch them closely."