Victoria has recorded 71 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases.
The health department on Monday confirmed 49 cases were linked to known outbreaks, while the remaining 22 infections remain under investigation.
The number of people infectious in the community was not provided by the department.
It brings the total number of active cases in the state to 494, including at least 27 people in hospital and 12 in intensive care.
Among those infected are staff at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, who cared for a Shepparton man infected with COVID-19.
It was revealed on Sunday the man was not tested before being admitted for surgery on August 12.
He had been in various parts of the hospital, including the ICU and a cardiac ward.
A family member who visited a patient in the same room as the man later tested positive, alerting the hospital to the outbreak.
Hundreds of health workers at the hospital have been forced into self-isolation due to risk of exposure.
An outbreak during the state’s second wave shut down four wards and infected about 200 staff members.
There are also more than 20 cases in Shepparton, about 200 kilometres north of Melbourne, and a case in the Mansfield region, at the foot of the Victorian Alps.
Regional Victoria entered lockdown at 1pm on Saturday, due to the emergence of cases in Shepparton and fears the virus had spread to other towns.
Victoria Police Chief Commission Shane Patton confirmed police and the health department are investigating a “large funeral” held in Shepparton in the lead up to the outbreak.
“I know we’re looking at what the numbers were as to whether they exceeded (the 50-person limit),” he told 3AW radio.
Mr Patton also said the number of officers injured during a violent anti-lockdown protest held on Saturday has grown to 21.
While eight of the nine officers taken to hospital have been discharged, one remains and is being assessed for surgery for a leg injury.
Mr Patton has described the protest as one of the most violent the city has seen in 20 years, with officers forced to use non-lethal weapons to defend themselves.
“The vast majority appeared to be between 25- and 40-year-old angry men,” he told ABC Radio.
“It was a mixture of a range of people with no clear leadership, just many people came in with an intention to confront police and with anger and confrontation on their mind, and that’s what occurred.”
In the 24 hours to Monday morning, 46,446 tests were processed and 22,191 vaccine doses were administered at state-run hubs.
AAP
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