Victoria records 473 new local Covid-19 cases, most aged under 50

Victoria has recorded its worst day of the latest outbreak with 473 new Covid cases, including another rise in mystery infections.

A room found in almost every workplace could be fuelling Victoria’s latest coronavirus outbreak, health authorities have warned.

Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar on Monday warned authorised workers to be careful about who they were coming into contact in tea rooms at workplace.

He said it was one of the “most dangerous” spots for the spread of the virus.

Mr Weimar said a number of cases in the latest outbreak, including at construction sites, were being transmitted in tea rooms.

“It’s probably where we drop masks to eat and drink and where we see people,” Mr Weimar said.

He urged people to minimised the time they spent in tea rooms at authorised worksites.

Mr Weimar said there were now five positive virus cases among V/Line staff, with the latest case believed to be acquired in a tea room.

Victoria recorded 473 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Monday as infections continue to rise despite lockdown.

Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar warned about transmission in tea rooms. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

It’s the highest daily spike of the state’s latest outbreak, surpassing the 448 cases recorded last Friday.

It’s also the state’s highest daily tally since 686 infections were recorded on August 4 last year during the deadly second wave.

The state’s health department confirmed the new local cases just after 8.30am, including another 271 mystery infections.

The health department revealed only 202 of the new cases could be linked to existing outbreaks.

They did not say how many cases were in isolation during their infectious period.

The outbreak continues to hit Victoria’s younger population the worst with 85 per cent of the state’s active cases aged under 50 years old.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the outbreak is everybody’s business. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Premier Daniel Andrews said the statistic was a reminder that the virus “is everybody’s business”.

“This is something that is really targeting, if you like, those who are not vaccinated,” he said.

Of the 3507 active cases on Monday, 529 were aged nine and younger, 585 were aged between 10 and 19, 840 were aged in their 20s and 627 were aged in their 30s.

No new cases were recorded in hotel quarantine on Monday. More than 16,000 primary close contacts remain in isolation in Victoria.

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