Victoria has recorded another 80 locally acquired coronavirus cases, including 41 people who were not isolating while infectious.
The total number of active cases in the state is 600.
Sixty-seven cases are linked to known sources, with the source of the remaining 13 under investigation.
The outbreak has hit Victoria’s health system and is causing distress in the regional town of Shepparton.
The state’s exposure sites list has ballooned past 800, including the emergency department of Monash Medical Centre which is now listed as a tier one exposure site.
Victoria is recruiting 350 overseas doctors and nurses to ease pressure on a hospital system facing hundreds of workers being furloughed due to coronavirus exposure, including at Royal Melbourne Hospital and Goulburn Valley Health.
The Goulburn Valley is battling an outbreak centred in Shepparton, about 180km north of Melbourne, with at least 50 cases and 17,000 residents in isolation.
Many supermarkets have closed for cleaning after being listed as exposure sites, including a large IGA in the town’s north.
Coles stores in Shepparton, Mooroopna and Shepparton South are also operating on reduced hours due to staff availability, while some home delivery and click-and-collect orders have been cancelled in recent days.
More exposure sites were added in the region on Wednesday afternoon, including a Shepparton East Woolworths and a KFC store in the centre of town.
Shepparton independent MP Suzanna Sheed wants Premier Daniel Andrews to send 100 Defence personnel by Thursday for logistics such as truck driving, packing and delivering supplies.
“We need help,” read a front-page splash in the city’s local newspaper on Wednesday.
About 50 ADF personnel have arrived to support Goulburn Valley Health with testing and door-to-door checks, and Health Minister Martin Foley said further support would be provided if needed.
Meanwhile, more than 95,000 Victorians booked vaccine appointments at state-run hubs to 4pm on Wednesday, despite the online system being overwhelmed as Pfizer eligibility expanded to those aged 16 to 39.
AAP
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