Victoria’s COVID-19 testing commander says Caroline Springs is “the area of most concern” as Melbourne battles a coronavirus outbreak.

Victoria recorded 20 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases yesterday.

Five of the cases were in quarantine while infectious.

All of the new cases are linked to existing cases.

Three of the cases are from the Flemington public housing towers at 130 and 126 Racecourse Road.

COVID-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar says “we need to see more people in the Caroline Springs area coming forward for testing”.

Two new testing locations have been set up at Caroline Springs — a drive-through testing site at City Vista Sports Precinct and a walk up clinic at the Caroline Springs Leisure Centre.

SEE THE LIST OF EXPOSURE SITES HERE

The new local cases:

• 10 linked to CS Square in Caroline Springs (4 linked to YPA Real Estate, 3 linked to Jolly Miller Cafe, 1 linked to Pacific Smiles Dentist, 2 who went to the shopping centre in general)
• 3 linked to the Newport Football Club
• 3 linked to Mt Alexander College
• 2 household contacts of the original Newport family cluster
• 1 student at Al-Taqwa College
• 1 linked to the Jolly Miller Cafe, but relating to a separate location a cafe worker also worked at.

There are two people in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19. None are in intensive care.

Victorians aged under 40 rushed to get vaccinated on the first day they were eligible for AstraZeneca at state-run clinics, without the need to visit their GP first.

There was a three-fold increase in AstraZeneca doses administered at state-run clinics yesterday, compared to the previous Monday.

“It gives strong emphasis to the fact that young people … want to get vaccinated,” Health Minister Martin Foley said.

Image: Darrian Traynor / Getty

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