While Melbourne residents wait desperately for coronavirus restrictions to ease, growing outbreaks and the plateauing of the daily case numbers are fuelling frustration.
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"We've seen a bit of a plateauing in recent days," Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on Friday as the state recorded 11 new cases and no new deaths.
"That's very frustrating to see."
The outbreak linked to The Butcher Club at Chadstone Shopping Centre has now grown to nearby bakery Ferguson Plarre, which on Friday confirmed one of its staff had tested positive to COVID-19.
No staff had experienced symptoms but underwent testing anyway, which led to the diagnosis, a statement said.
The Chadstone bakery and its nearby Oakleigh store have closed for deep cleaning.
The Butcher Club cluster numbers 32 cases, up one from Thursday, and has led to five cases nearly 100km away at Oddfellows cafe in Kilmore, after an infected person linked to the Chadstone outbreak dined there.
One Chadstone case who lives in Frankston has led to a cluster of 12 in that suburb, who are mostly family members.
An outbreak at Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne's east has grown to four cases. Prof Sutton said staff are being tested but could not say how the outbreak started.
Melbourne needs a 14-day average of five cases and no more than five mystery cases during the same period, to further ease restrictions on October 19.
The city's current average is 9.4.
On Thursday, Premier Daniel Andrews tried to give some reassurance when he said it was "highly unlikely" there would be no changes on October 19.
Professor Sutton was also upbeat on Friday about the story behind the frustrating numbers, highlighting it is the first time active cases are under 200.
"We will get on top of these outbreaks, we always do," he said.
He apologised to self-isolating Kilmore residents, some of whom have complained of confusing instructions from officials.
Asked about a Kilmore new mother who attended the Oddfellows cafe and complained about conflicting testing advice, Prof Sutton said "inconsistencies is a lesson for us".
On Friday, Mr Andrews had to repeatedly brush off questions from Sky News presenter and former chief of staff to prime minister Tony Abbott, Peta Credlin, about his phone records.
During the premier's daily media conference, she put to him that he could, of his own accord, release his phone records from March 27 and potentially clear up the question of who decided to use private security for hotel quarantine.
Mr Andrews said he would not do anything outside the formal inquiry process, saying, "if they want to make a request of me then they are free to do so".
Meanwhile, Victoria's former health minister Jenny Mikakos has told the state's hotel quarantine inquiry the premier's evidence about private security should be "treated with caution".
In her response to closing submissions, Ms Mikakos says it is "implausible" to suggest no one made the decision to use private security guards in the botched program.
Lawyers assisting the inquiry last week argued the decision was not made by one person or one government department and circumstances instead pointed to a "creeping assumption that became a reality".
"The board ought to treat with caution the premier's evidence where he sought to explain the reference to the use of private security in the hotel quarantine program," Ms Mikakos said.
She resigned last month, the day after Mr Andrews told the inquiry he held her accountable.
Victoria's death toll remains at 809 and the national figure is 897.
Australian Associated Press