Gea Local: Melbourne lockdown likely to be extended as Victoria records 20 new local COVID-19 cases

Victorian government officials are meeting this morning to discuss an extension to Melbourne's lockdown, with seven days among the options being canvassed.

Victoria has recorded 20 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases out of 41,571 test results processed on Tuesday.

Of the new cases, 15 are linked to current outbreaks and 14 have been in quarantine throughout their infectious periods.

The identification of unlinked cases and more community exposure to the virus has virtually sealed an extension to Melbourne's lockdown.

A senior government source has told the ABC that officials are meeting to discuss the extension and another seven days is on the table.

The state government is yet to officially confirm an extension of the capital city's lockdown, which is due to end at 8:00pm Thursday.

But Premier Daniel Andrews has stressed that the number of cases in the community while infectious would be a key factor.

"We need to get down to a very low number of cases if any, that have been out in the community during their infectious period," Mr Andrews said on Monday.

"Not case numbers but whether people have been out there spreading the virus."

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said he did not expect the city's lockdown to end tomorrow.

"I suspect we're going to get the news we don't want, which is that lockdown is extended," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

A sign reads 'CS Square' outside the shopping centre entrance, on a cloudy winter day. — Anyone who worked at CS Square in Caroline Springs from Monday to Thursday last week must get tested immediately and quarantine.(
ABC News: Patrick Rocca
)

More exposure sites were added late last night, including public transport routes in Melbourne's west which predate the state's lockdown.

All staff who worked at the CS Square shopping centre in Caroline Springs between Monday and Thursday last week have been ordered to get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days, as authorities try to contain significant transmission within the centre.

Greens MP Ellen Sandell, who represents the state seat of Melbourne, said St Michael's Primary School in North Melbourne had become one of the latest school communities hit by the Delta outbreak.

Ms Sandell said students and staff in classes 1S and 1D from Thursday last week must get tested and quarantine for 14 days.

A kindergarten in Gippsland has closed for a precautionary deep clean after a child saw a Melbourne doctor who later tested positive.

Regional Victorian communities eased out of lockdown on Tuesday, but strong restrictions remain on gatherings and reopened hospitality settings.