Fears of another Victoria lockdown as state weighs up new restrictions

Victorians are furious at the way Covid was spread from Sydney to Melbourne and are anxious about the prospect of a fresh lockdown as new cases emerge tonight.

Victorians are anxiously waiting to see if they will be plunged into yet another lockdown, as the state government weighs fresh restrictions amid a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases brought in from NSW.

They are also furious that the virus was spread to Melbourne by removalists who failed to follow the rules of their workers' permit, did not wear masks and have not been cooperating with authorities.

Victoria recorded seven new cases early on Wednesday. Four of the new cases were recorded on level three of Ariele apartments in Maribyrnong where the removalists stopped.

A further two cases were family members of Ariele apartments residents and one case was believed to have been infected at Coles in Craigieburn where a family returning from a red zone were not isolating.

But on Wednesday night, a teacher at Bacchus Marsh Grammar tested positive and there are reports of an additional two cases which would bring the daily total to 10.

The three new cases are all believed to be linked to the apartment building where the removalists worked without face coverings.

Asked if the removalists had been deliberately evasive, Victoria's Covid-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said: "They're not being deliberately forthcoming, let me put it that way."

The Herald Sun reports the state government is holding high-level meetings this afternoon to weigh up whether to reimpose restrictions across Melbourne, with an announcement expected as early as Thursday.

It comes after NSW extended the Greater Sydney lockdown by at least another two weeks until the end of July, with another 97 cases on Wednesday bringing the total outbreak to 864.

This is how the news unfolded on Wednesday. You can find Tuesday's blog here.