Victoria has confirmed 11 more coronavirus cases, including two linked to aged care that were reported on Sunday.
It is not yet known if the remaining nine infections reported on Monday are linked to the outbreaks that have spread across the city and sparked its fourth lockdown.
Victorian health authorities will provide an update later on Monday.
Melbourne’s extended lockdown is due to end at midnight on Thursday, although authorities has so far refused to confirm if that will go ahead.
Tweet from @VicGovDH
On Sunday, deputy chief health officer Allen Cheng said the state was running “neck and neck” with the virus. However, he expected an easing of restrictions was likely.
“We don’t want to be in this any longer than we need to. So if we can, we will lift it early,” he said.
One of the cases linked to the Arcare Maidstone aged-care home in Melbourne’s inner-north-west is a 79-year-old resident who has had both doses of the Pfizer vaccine. They live close to two other residents, aged 99 and 89, who have previously tested positive.
The resident, who is asymptomatic, is in hospital.
The other case is a registered nurse who worked at the home on Saturday, is also asymptomatic and has received a first COVID-19 shot.
Melbourne has three coronavirus outbreaks with unknown sources: the Whittlesea cluster, which began with a Wollert man who left hotel quarantine in early May; the Arcare outbreak and the outbreak of the Delta variant of the virus linked to West Melbourne.
Professor Cheng said as time went on and the virus’s 14-day incubation cycle ran out, officials would become less concerned about finding the exact source of the outbreak.
“I think it’s fair to say that, with the passage of time, we get more comfortable with unknown source cases if they haven’t transmitted or there’s no, you know, hidden transmission going on after, you know, one to three weeks,” he said.
Only 2-3 per cent of Victorians have so far been fully vaccinated as Melbourne emerges from its second weekend of lockdown.
Professor Cheng said it was difficult to say what proportion would need to be vaccinated to avoid future lockdowns.
“There isn’t one single magic number,” he said.
“Once you get up to much higher coverage rates, then it makes a whole lot of things easier.
“We may not need the intensity of restrictions. We may be able to only do contact tracing without having to do other things quite to the same level, and that is the benefit of vaccination.”
-with AAP
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