The premier of the state of Victoria, Daniel Andrews announced a statewide regional lockdown amid the detection of 77 new COVID cases.

The lockdown was enforced after authorities struggled to contain a rapidly growing cluster of COVID cases in the regional city of Shepparton.

All of regional Victoria entered lockdown at 1 pm Saturday, and it will continue until 2 September. 

Premier Andrews said that the statewide lockdown was the only option as the entire state was at the risk of an outbreak.

Regional centers face the same orders that are in place in Melbourne but will not be subject to the curfew that is in place in the capital.

The decision will also shut down access to childcare services for all but vulnerable children, and the children of authorized workers. Permits will be needed to access childcare.

Schools have been recommending masks for primary school children while they are indoors.

Victoria recorded 61 new locally acquired virus cases on Saturday, including 39 that were infectious in the community. Authorities have only been able to link 48 of the cases to known outbreaks.

An additional 16 cases have been detected – all in Shepparton – via rapid testing. They will be included in Sunday’s numbers.

“Sadly the public health team has advised that given the Shepparton outbreak and the fact that at least one person travelled to Bendigo, and potentially others travelled beyond, that is to say, there is a very significant risk of the transmission right across regional Victoria,” Andrews told reporters on Saturday.