All except one of the state's active cases are in hotel quarantine. A teenage girl, who contracted the virus in New South Wales earlier in the month, remains in isolation at home.

Seven of the eight confirmed cases are in returned international travellers.

The new case in hotel quarantine is in a woman aged in her 20s.

Victoria has recorded its 61^st consecutive day without locally acquired coronavirus cases.

A total of 8731 test results were received in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, New South Wales is ramping up restrictions after recording 18 new locally acquired cases.

Two of the cases were linked to the Woolongong area, prompting New South Wales Health to urge anyone who spent time in the Illawarra-Shoalhaven region in the past fortnight to be on the lookout for symptoms and get tested should any develop.

Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services urged people to remain vigilant over the festive season.

Anyone with symptoms, no matter how mild, was advised to get tested immediately.

There will be reduced capacity of some testing sites until January 2, while testing sites are in operation in popular holiday destinations at Torquay, Lorne and the Mornington Peninsula.

Victorians are strongly advised not to travel to Sydney as you may not be able to re-enter without undertaking hotel quarantine for 14 days.

A highly infectious variant of COVID-19 has reached Australia and is spreading rapidly around the world.

The Department of Health and Human Services has encouraged people to find alternatives to bringing in the new year in the Melbourne CBD, unless they have bookings at hospitality venues.

Fireworks have been cancelled and police will be patrolling the CBD to ensure public venues are safe.

"People are encouraged to only come into the CBD if you have a booking for hospitality venues," the department advised.

"And if you're feeling unwell, stay home and get tested.

"This is a highly infectious virus and until a vaccine becomes widely available, we must do everything we can to reduce transmission in our community, protect our hard-earned gains and keep Victorians safe so we can continue to enjoy a COVIDSafe summer."

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Extra police patrols will also be conducted in regional towns and along coastal areas.

Mobile Protective Services Officers will be stationed on trains and at train stations in Melbourne and key regional hubs including Bendigo.

Victorians have been reminded not to share drinks with others and to limit hugs and kisses to immediate family and those they lived with.

A list of tips to safely bring in the new year included carrying hand sanitiser and practising good hand hygiene.

Other reminders included:

The first Australian case of the South African variant was discovered in a woman who arrived in Queensland on December 22 and went straight into hotel quarantine.

"Genome sequencing has come back to show that she has this new variant that has been picked up in South Africa that is thought to be more contagious," the state's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said.

The woman was on Tuesday transferred by ambulance to the Sunshine Coast University Hospital.

The variant is causing concern around the world because it spreads faster than novel coronavirus, although it's not necessary more deadly.

The World Health Organisation is yet to determine whether the new variant - and another that developed recently in the UK - could undermine vaccines being rolled out around the world.

The first Australians are set to be vaccinated by the end of March next year.

At least 24 countries around the world have recorded cases of the South African or UK coronavirus variants, including Lebanon, Singapore, Pakistan, India, South Korea, Japan, France, Germany and Italy.

-with AAP

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