Victoria has recorded 79 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, as the state's outbreak spreads further across northern Victoria.
Key points:
- An Echuca aged care home is in lockdown after a fully vaccinated worker tested positive
- A crisis response has been stood up in Shepparton, where thousands of contacts have been forced into home quarantine
- Racing Victoria has charged four jockeys with breaching COVID-19 protocols for a "selfish" gathering
Contact tracers have linked 63 of the new cases to existing outbreaks,
At least 19 of Victoria's 79 new cases were in quarantine during their infectious period.
Health Minister Martin Foley said that number may grow as interviews were completed today.
It takes the number of active locally acquired cases of COVID-19 to 656 across the state.
Victoria processed 50,535 test results on Thursday.
There were 33,611 doses of vaccine were delivered at state-run sites.
There have been repeated warnings the outbreak is being driven by people with symptoms delaying testing, with government data showing only 40 percent of people reported getting tested with symptoms in the week to Thursday.
ABC News: Eden Hynninen
)New permit for people leaving hotel quarantine
Victoria has introduced a new permit for people departing hotel quarantine as part of its traffic light border system.
People arriving in Victoria from other states, territories and New Zealand all need to have a border permit to enter.
Mr Foley said the "departing hotel quarantine" permit would replace the green permit that international arrivals previously had to get to enter Victoria after quarantining interstate.
It requires people to have a test 17 days after commencing hotel quarantine, and "strongly recommends" a day 21 test.
Jockeys stood down over alleged Airbnb gathering
AAP/Racing Photos
)Four Victorian jockeys have been stood down for alleged breaches of the state's COVID-19 restrictions after they reportedly gathered at a holiday rental property with two other people.
Racing Victoria charged Jamie Kah, Ben Melham, Ethan Brown, and apprentice Celine Gaudray with breaching COVID-19 protocols.
It is alleged the four jockeys were present at an Airbnb in Mornington on Wednesday after 9:00pm.
Under the state's COVID-19 restrictions, private gatherings are banned, and a 9:00pm curfew is in place in greater Melbourne, which includes Mornington.
All four jockeys have been banned from riding for 14 days.
In a statement, Racing Victoria CEO Giles Thompson labelled the alleged behaviour "a slap in the face to every member of the racing industry".
"These individuals could have put at risk the very continuance of our sport and also blatantly disregarded the broader community implications through their selfish and thoughtless actions," he said.
"To see all of that potentially thrown away by the reckless behaviour of a small few is incredibly disappointing and far from what is expected of our industry participants."
An inquiry into the incident will resume this morning.
Horse and greyhound racing has been allowed to continue without crowds during Victoria's lockdowns, in part due to animal welfare issues if the industries were to shut down.
The rules for the industry came under the spotlight last year when a decision to allow owners and connections to attend the Cox Plate was later reversed due to public backlash.
Regional outbreak worsens
The outbreak across the state's north has worsened, with an Echuca aged care home in lockdown after a fully vaccinated worker from Kyabram tested positive.
Echuca Community for the Aged said in a statement the Wharparilla Lodge worker was well when they last completed a shift on Friday last week.
There are more than 860 exposure sites across the state, with new sites listed in northern Victoria at Echuca, Kyabram and Mooroopna.
Emergency Management Victoria is overseeing the state's crisis response in Shepparton, where thousands of quarantined residents are struggling to access food and medication due to the volume of workers forced into quarantine.
Australian Defence Force personnel are in Shepparton and are supporting community relief efforts and engagement, and around 50 ADF staff are supporting testing services.
AAP: Daniel Pockett
)Goulburn Valley Health said it had now been forced to furlough 510 staff as COVID-19 cases and exposure sites continued to increase in Shepparton.
'We have redeployed people or moved people from other areas to maintain those critical essential services such as our emergency department and operating theatres," the service's chief executive Matt Sharp said.
The service is operating with limited frontline staff, as well as fewer critical support workers such as cleaning, catering and IT.
Mr Sharp said he expected Shepparton's local COVID-19 cases to reach more than 70 today.
"Obviously with people still testing positive there's still virus moving around in the community and it's really important that people who do have symptoms of COVID-19 come forward and get tested straight away," he said.
More than 20,000 people have been tested in Shepparton though Goulburn Valley testing sites since last Friday.
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Victoria records 79 local COVID-19 cases as regional outbreak spreads to Echuca - ABC News
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