Victorian authorities have vowed to test hotel quarantine staff no longer working in the program after a man linked to the Australian Open tested positive to COVID-19.
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The 26-year-old man from Noble Park in Melbourne's southeast returned a positive test on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people into self-isolation, including a number of tennis stars.
The man worked as a "resident support officer" at the Grand Hyatt hotel, as part of the Australian Open hotel quarantine program.
He returned a negative test after working his last shift at the hotel on January 29, but later developed symptoms and went for a test on his own accord.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said health authorities would expand the daily testing regime for hotel quarantine staff to cover those who aren't working.
"We are making sure that they are tested on their days off," he told reporters on Thursday.
"There will be a testing program for people that finish work."
Two of the man's close household contacts have tested negative, while health authorities have been able to reach 19 of the 20 people identified as close contacts.
A further 600 casual contacts also have been told to isolate and get tested, as have 520 tennis players, officials and support staff.
Melbourne Park matches were suspended on Thursday, but will resume on Friday and tournament director Craig Tiley said the Open would go ahead as planned from next Monday.
Wastewater samples collected from the southeast on Tuesday have also come back negative for COVID-19.
"These are all good positive early signs. We have got to this in good time," Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Thursday.
He said a review of CCTV at the Grand Hyatt showed the man was a "model employee" who correctly followed all safety procedures.
"We can find no problem, no breach of protocol, anything of that nature in terms of his employment," Mr Andrews said.
The case brought the state's 28-day run of zero community transmission to an end and prompted a reintroduction of a number of restrictions.
Masks must now be worn indoors and the number of visitors allowed in private homes has been halved to 15, while a scheduled increase in the number of workers allowed to return to the office has been put on hold.
It is still unknown if the man is carrying a more-virulent international variant of the virus, with the results of genomic testing expected on Friday.
Professor Cheng said it was likely the man contracted the virus from a positive case in the quarantine hotel.
"It's not rocket science to say he's probably caught it from one of the cases. We are aware there were six cases at that hotel," he said, noting four were the more highly infectious UK variant.
A number of hotel quarantine security guards last year contracted COVID-19, sparking Victoria's second wave of coronavirus, which killed hundreds of people and led to months of lockdown.
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said the state could not afford to have a repeat of history.
"This is how it started last year. The government said that they learnt their lessons ... clearly, something went wrong," he said.
Capacity is being boosted at testing sites across the state, as a list of exposure sites grows.
Anyone who has visited the sites, which are largely situated in the city's southeast, have been told to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days.
A number of states have also introduced testing requirements for people travelling from Victoria, including NSW, SA, Tasmania, Queensland and WA.
WA's planned re-categorisation of Victoria to "very low risk" on Thursday has also been put on hold, meaning incoming travellers will still need to quarantine for 14 days.
Meanwhile, investigations continue into the potential transmission of the UK variant of COVID-19 within another Melbourne quarantine hotel.
Authorities believe the virus jumped from one room at the Park Royal Hotel at Melbourne Airport to a guest in the opposite room.
Australian Associated Press
