Victoria has reported six new local COVID-19 cases, including a Melbourne teacher who may have been infectious in the community for a week and a suburban footballer.
The teacher from Al-Taqwa College in Truganina tested positive on Wednesday and authorities are racing to trace her movements.
She was among six new locally acquired cases detected in the 24 hours to Thursday morning.
The health department said investigations were continuing into three cases, including the teacher’s previously reported infection.
The three others are all linked to the current outbreaks and were in quarantine while infectious.
Another one of the mystery cases involves a Newport Football Club player who took the field at Shorten Reserve on Saturday for a senior’s match against West Footscray.
The Western Region Football League said he started to feel unwell this week and did not attend training on Tuesday.
Newport president Marwan Abou-Zeid said the player contacted the club immediately after learning of his positive result on Wednesday.
His teammates and club officials have been told to get tested and isolate until further notice.
“We’ve stopped everything and are just waiting for the health department to get back to us with what tier exposure site the club is in,” he told AAP.
Mr Abou-Zeid sent the player a text message, who replied he was not feeling well.
He is unsure if the player is linked to the teacher at Al-Taqwa College, which has been temporarily closed with more than 2000 students and 300 staff ordered to get tested and self-isolate.
The Ilim College and Australian International Academy campuses as well as the Islamic College of Melbourne (ICOM) at Tarneit were also shut on Thursday as a precaution.
In separate letters, the three schools reassured parents that none of their students or staff had tested positive so far.
The Al-Taqwa teacher, aged in her 20s, lives in the Hobsons Bay area with her husband and urgent investigations are underway into how she contracted the virus.
Victoria’s COVID-19 Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said she became symptomatic at the end of last week and may have been infectious in the community for a week before testing positive.
The college has been listed as a tier-one exposure site from July 28 to 30, while a Yarraville Coles is a tier-two site for specific times on July 29.
Al-Taqwa College was a significant location for transmission in last year’s second wave.
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said teachers should be prioritised for vaccinations as frontline workers.
“We need to get our teachers vaccinated, we need to keep our schools open,” he told reporters at parliament on Thursday.
Mr O’Brien denied he “jumped the gun” by calling for restrictions to ease before the mystery case emerged.
“This new mystery case is a concern. We need to look very, very carefully at it because what we cannot afford is a sixth lockdown,” he said.
More than 17,000 test results were received over the past 24 hours, while about 27,000 vaccine doses were administered at state-run sites.
Active cases have fallen to 80 from 99.
Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of Victoria recording 725 cases, the highest daily number of infections in its deadly second wave of the virus.
AAP
