The Australian state of Victoria has recorded 25 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, more than half in the community at some stage while infectious.
Health authorities say 21 of them are linked to known outbreaks and 12 have been in isolation throughout their infectious period.
The state administered 23,076 vaccine doses in the 24 hours to Saturday evening and conducted 32,286 tests for the virus during the same period.
Victorians are being urged again not to delay getting tested as concern grows about the number of cases active within the community before being detected and as Melbourne’s lockdown continues.
The state recorded 21 new locally acquired cases on Saturday, 10 of them out and about while infectious.
Eight mystery cases were still to be linked from the City of Melbourne, Glenroy, Melton South, Middle Park, Brunswick West and Wyndham Vale, as well as cases in Newport and West Footscray that were identified earlier this month, Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson told reporters.
“We are very concerned about what we’re seeing across Melbourne,” she said. “We won’t have unlinked cases if people come forward to get testing as soon as they possibly can, at the earliest sign of symptoms.”
As of Saturday evening, there were more than 455 exposure sites spread across multiple Melbourne suburbs, including the Royal Melbourne Women’s Hospital and Chadstone Shopping Centre.
Of Saturday’s case tally, 15 were linked to a growing cluster in Glenroy, which has been driven by mystery infections in multiple households.
There were 22 cases linked directly to Glenroy West Primary School, with 345 close contacts isolating.
The state conducted 33,675 tests on Friday but Health Minister Martin Foley said he preferred the number be above 40,000 tests per day.
“If you have symptoms, you need to go and get tested. If someone in your family has symptoms, encourage them to get tested. Because there is every chance if you don’t get tested and you pass this virus on to someone else, then they will pass it on to more people,” he said.
Foley said the state would launch a series of new drive-in vaccination centres across Melbourne, after administering a record 29,490 vaccine doses on Friday.
