Five new local cases were reported, taking Victoria’s total to 70 in the latest outbreak, as the state capital Melbourne entered its second weekend of a hard lockdown, due to end on 10 June. Curbs were eased for the rest of the state on Friday.
Saturday’s count was up from four new locally acquired cases on Friday.
Authorities were alarmed after detecting the highly infectious Delta variant for the first time in Melbourne, sparking concerns cases could spike. There are now seven known cases in the city.
The Delta variant, which has been classified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as among the four variants of concern due to evidence that it spreads more easily, likely caused the latest devastating outbreak in India.
Snap lockdowns, regional border restrictions and strict social distancing rules have helped Australia rein in prior outbreaks and keep its numbers relatively low at just 30,150 cases and 910 deaths.
Victoria’s outbreak, which began on 24 May, has spurred people to join long queues for vaccinations following a slow rollout since February. The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison said 20% of the adult population has now had a first dose of a vaccine.