The interval between AstraZeneca doses has been halved to from 12 weeks to six after Victoria recorded 176 new infections on Thursday.

Two Victorian women have died in their homes from coronavirus as the state records its first virus-related fatalities in 2021.

Victoria’s planned exit from lockdown on Thursday looks unlikely after the state recorded 64 new cases on Saturday morning. Authorities have not provided a lockdown update.

Health officials believe Victoria could move out of its strict lockdown next week if the state doesn’t record any further mystery Covid cases as 45 new infections were confirmed on Wednesday.  

Victoria has recorded 65 new cases of Covid-19 as regional areas enter their first day of lockdown and Melbourne is left reeling after a violent anti-lockdown was attended by 4000 on Saturday.

Dan Andrews has warned he won’t open the Victorian border until NSW beats its Covid outbreak, even if 80 per cent of its population is vaccinated.

Melissa Burr, 32, from Rainham in Kent, was killed outside Victoria Railway Station on Tuesday.

Regional areas will be lifted from lockdown at 11.59pm Monday as a result of no cases or exposure sites since the latest outbreak emerged last week.

Contact tracers are probing the movements of a man aged in his 20s from Maribyrnong, in north-west Melbourne, after he tested positive to Covid-19.

Swarms of mask-less protestors have hit Melbourne’s CBD as Victoria’s sixth lockdown came into effect at 8pm.