Victoria has notched its 50th consecutive day with no locally acquired coronavirus cases.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Department of Health and Human Services' daily update revealed two cases of internationally acquired coronavirus in hotel quarantine among 9,780 tests on Friday.
DHHS said there are 10 active COVID-19 cases in Victoria.
Victoria's figures come amid a growing cluster associated with Sydney's Northern Beaches and the detection of COVID-19 fragments in routine wastewater testing in Castlemaine.
Castlemaine's CHIRP Community Health has advised residents and visitors to Castlemaine, Campbells Creek, Chewton, Harcourt, Newstead and Maldon to get tested for coronavirus if they have any symptoms.
A drive through testing clinic will open from 10am to noon on Saturday, December 19 and Sunday, December 20 at CHIRP Community Health, 13 Mostyn Street, Castlemaine, while the Bendigo Health COVID-19 screening clinic at Stewart Street, Bendigo is open from 10am to 5.30pm daily.
The most recent update from NSW Health last Friday morning revealed 28 cases associated with the Northern Beaches cluster, with the next update expected at about 11am on Saturday, December 19.
The Northern Beaches outbreak prompted Victorian health authorities to mandate testing for anyone entering the state who has been in the Northern Beaches since December.
Testing and quarantine has been made mandatory for any travellers to Victoria who visited the area, or other high risk locations since December 11.
The state government introduced a permit system for travel across the Victoria-NSW border, with all travellers from NSW requiring a permit to enter.
On Friday, Bendigo Airport saw its final commercial passenger flight arrive before Victoria's new travel restrictions took effect at midnight.
Passengers arriving on this Friday morning's QantasLink flight from Sydney to Bendigo underwent spot checks for the virus in the baggage arrivals area of the airport.
There are no QantasLink services scheduled between Bendigo and Sydney at the weekend.
Department of Health and Human Services testing and community engagement commander Jeroen Weimar said the Victorian government would now meet all incoming flights from NSW, to make sure all arriving passengers understood requirements.
He said a permit system would require all travellers into Victoria to have a permit, regardless of their place of residence.
Mr Weimar said anyone who had been to the Northern Beaches or high-risk zones would not be permitted, regardless of their circumstances. Anyone who does arrive after midnight tonight they will be taken to hotel quarantine for 14 days.
We have removed our paywall from this story about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we want to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists, subscribe here