Keep checking back during the day for the latest on the evolving situation. To catch up on how the previous days have unfolded, read our day two and day one coverage.

UPDATE, 2.30PM: GV Health's Matt Sharp gives an update

The Shepparton outbreak has grown to 23 cases after Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp confirmed two more positive cases.

GV Health anticipates around 11,000 people will need to get tested in the coming days.

He's currently fronting the media, we'll update you as soon as more information comes to hand. 

UPDATE, 1.10PM: Shepparton Marketplace, Ryan's Fruit and Veg say they have exposure sites

Shepparton Marketplace has shared on Facebook that two COVID-19 exposure sites have been identified at the centre. 

The Shepparton Marketplace public toilets on Monday, August 16 from 9am to 10.30am are a Tier 1 exposure site according to the post.

Anyone who has visited a Tier 1 exposure site during these times must immediately isolate, seek a COVID-19 test and quarantine for 14 days from the date of exposure.

Gloria Jeans at the Shepparton Marketplace on Monday, August 16 between 9.30am and 10.30am has been listed as a Tier 2 exposure site.

Anyone who has visited a Tier 2 exposure site during these times should urgently seek a COVID-19 test and isolate until they receive a negative result. Continue to monitor for symptoms and get tested again if symptoms appear.

A deep clean of the centre is being undertaken.

Ryan's Fruit and Veg also shared a post on Sunday afternoon, saying they had been informed they are an exposure site.

"(The store) had a COVID positive person visit our store on Monday, August 16 between 12.30pm and 1pm," the post said.

"Public health have ordered us to close immediately as of this morning.

"We are working quickly to safely re-open the store as soon as possible. If you visited the store on this date and time you should isolate and get a test as soon as possible."

The store is undergoing a deep cleaning.

The exposure sites are yet to be added to the official DHHS list.

UPDATE, 12.26PM: COVID support packages for business, hospitality, sole traders and workers

A package of automatic cash grants jointly funded by the Commonwealth and Victorian Governments will provide regional Victorian businesses with support they need following the extension of the Victorian lockdown to the whole of the state.

Lockdown directions commenced at 1:00pm on Saturday, 21 August in regional Victoria and will continue until 11:59pm on Friday, 2 September, aligning with restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne.

Grants to be paid through the new $146.6 million initiative will be made automatically without the need for regional businesses to make an application.

The package comprises a $100.9 million allocation to the Business Costs Assistance Program, $34.5 million for regional premises that have previously received Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund grants and $11.2 million for the Alpine Resorts Winter Support Program.

These programs will support 20,000 business throughout regional Victoria.

• Business Costs Assistance Program Around 18,000 businesses in regional Victoria will automatically receive payments of $5,600 (2,800 per week) if they have previously received grants under the Business Costs Assistance Round Two or July Extension programs.
• Small Business COVID Hardship Fund Businesses in regional Victoria that do not qualify for this new support and have experienced a reduction in revenue of at least 70 per cent are encouraged to apply for the $252 million Small Business COVID Hardship Fund, which provides grants of $14,000 to successful applicants.
• Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund Automatic payments of $5,000, $10,000 and $20,000 per week will be made to more than 2,000 licensed hospitality premises in regional Victoria that have previously received grants under the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021 or July Extension programs.
• The COVID-19 Disaster Payment  A payment of $450 for people who have lost from eight to 20 hours work or a full day of work (over seven days), and $750 for 20 hours or more of work lost.
• Commonwealth income support People who receive certain payments are eligible to receive a $200 payment where they have lost eight hours or more of work due to the lockdowns.

Victorian micro-businesses and sole trader business owners who wish to apply for the Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payment can access the Business Victoria Concierge Service on 13 22 15 and schedule an appointment that will provide them with assistance to make an application.

UPDATE, 12PM:  Drive-through testing clinic officially hits capacity

The Shepparton Harness Racing Club drive-through testing clinic has reportedly been forced to turn people away and advise them to return tomorrow as capacity is exhausted.

Earlier this morning a GV Health spokesperson said the drive-through clinics at the racing club and the Shepparton Sports Precinct were temporarily closed as part of a "traffic management procedure" due to concerns about "the risk of vehicles queuing on roads and parking in unsafe locations."

At 10am, about an hour after the sites had opened, wait times were already three hours. 

At 8.55am this morning a sign at the racecourse drive-through clinic stated that the site was closed, and by 9.05am the access road to the sports precinct testing site was closed, and a sign stated the testing clinic was also closed.

Another drive-through testing station opened at 10am at the Shepparton Showgrounds Multipurpose Pavilion, with an additional lane to open from 2pm.

UPDATE, 11AM: Shepparton outbreak spreads to Mansfield, connection to Royal Melbourne outbreak investigated

The Shepparton COVID outbreak has spread with a confirmed case in Mansfield and cases at the Royal Melbourne Hospital linked to the region.

The Mansfield case was identified after the patient presented at the emergency department overnight Saturday, and will be added to Monday’s case numbers.

A Shepparton patient who was admitted to the Royal Melbourne Hospital for surgery prior to the emergence of cases in his hometown is also believed to be the source of infection for another patient who then passed it on to a family member who visited.

The details emerged at the daily Victorian Government media conference. Department of Health deputy secretary Kate Matson said authorities believe a surgery patient from Shepparton brought COVID-19 to the hospital.

"The index case was a woman who visited family member at Royal Melbourne Hospital and caught it from the family member – the family member was on same ward as person from Shepparton,” she said.

Ms Matson said the source of the Shepparton outbreak, which sits at 21 cases, is still unknown and given the rapid rise in case numbers, it is expected infectious cases were in the community.

“We don’t have a source case for the Shepparton outbreak yet, we don’t know how it started,” she said.

“We expect the Shepparton outbreak to grow.”

Ms Matson urged younger people to heed health orders, revealing that the Delta strain is infecting younger people at might higher rates than other strains. There are 259 active cases in people under 30 and 109 are aged under 9 years-old.

Victorian Health Minister Luke Foley said 55 of today's cases are linked to known cases, 10 are mystery cases. Twenty-one of the cases are linked to the Shepparton outbreak and were confirmed on Saturday. 

More than 2000 tests were conducted in Shepparton on Saturday, and health authorities say drive-through testing capacity has doubled following the opening of another drive-through clinic at the Shepparton Showgrounds today.

Just 12 of the positive cases were in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period, with authorities working to contract trace and update exposure sites.

Mr Foley continued to encourage eligible people to get vaccinated, saying there are 1600 vaccination appointments still available in Shepparton.

Today's figures bring the number of active cases to 440. 27 people are in hospital, including 12 in the ICU and five that are on a ventilator.

A total of 44,147 tests were processed across the state yesterday, and 26,149 vaccinations were administered at state-run centres.

UPDATE, 10.06AM: GV Health says closed signs are traffic management

A GV Health spokesperson has responded to the closure of some drive-through testing sites, saying the temporary closures is a "traffic management procedure".

"When the signs state they are closed, this is a temporary traffic management procedure to manage the risk of vehicles queuing on roads and parking in unsafe locations.

"The wait time is around three hours, so please be patient and take reading material, snacks and water."

By 8.55am a sign at the racecourse drive-through clinic stated that the site was closed, and by 9.05am the access road to the sports precinct testing site was closed, and a sign stated the testing clinic was also closed.

Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp has confirmed a fourth drive-through testing station will open at 10am at the Shepparton Showgrounds Multipurpose Pavilion, with an additional lane to open from 2pm.

The new testing site will be best accessed by Archer Rd - enter from the extension from Fryers St as more assistance from Bendigo, Melbourne and other centres arrives in Shepparton.

UPDATE, 9.29am: Victoria records 65 new COVID-19 cases

Victoria has recorded 65 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases from 44,147 tests for the virus conducted on Saturday.

Health officials say 26,149 vaccine doses were also administered across the state during the 24 hours to Saturday evening.

All of Victoria is currently under orders to stay at home as infections spread in the north.

Premier Daniel Andrews says there is "every reason to believe that this is further into regional Victoria" after 21 cases were reported on Saturday from three families who have children at three local schools in Shepparton.

All regional Victorian centres entered a new lockdown at 1pm on Saturday which won't lift until 11.59pm on September 2 under the best-case scenario.

However, regional communities have been spared the curfew imposed on the capital.

Victoria recorded 61 new locally acquired cases in total on Saturday, 39 of them infectious in the community.

An additional 16 cases were set aside to be included in Sunday's count - all of them in Shepparton and detected through rapid testing after the city's first positive case was reported on Friday.

UPDATE, 9am: High demand at testing sites

Locals have once again turned out in force to get tested, with significant lines being experienced at the Shepparton Sports Precinct drive-through clinic, Acute Respiratory Clinic and the Shepparton Harness Racing Club drive-through clinic.

By 8.55am a sign at the racecourse drive-through clinic stated that the site was closed, and by 9.05am the access road to the sports precinct testing site was closed, and a sign stated the testing clinic was also closed.

Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp has confirmed a fourth drive-through testing station will open at 10am at the Shepparton Showgrounds Multipurpose Pavilion, with an additional lane to open from 2pm.

The new  testing site will be best accessed by Archer Rd - enter from the extension from Fryers St as more assistance from Bendigo, Melbourne and other centres arrives in Shepparton.

Before the sports precinct site had even opened there was an overflow of cars, whiles the racing club drive-through currently has a line stretching out the entrance. The line at GV Health continues to stretch down Monash St.

Current testing sites include: 

• The Acute Respiratory Clinic at GV Health, Graham Street – open from 8:00am

• Drive-through testing at Shepparton Sports Precinct, corner of Numurkah Road and Brauman Street, Shepparton – open from 8:30am

• Drive-through testing at Shepparton Greyhound and Trotting Track, 7580 Goulburn Valley Hwy, Kialla – open from 9:00am

• Drive-through testing at Shepparton Showgrounds Multipurpose Pavilion, enter from Fryers St extension (best accessed from Archer Road) – one lane open from 10:00am with an additional lane to open from 2:00pm

Testing is NOT available at the Vaccine Hub at the McIntosh Centre at the Shepparton Showgrounds.

GV Health has provided the following advice to students and teachers from schools, noting the below applies to their household contacts as well. These people should present for testing at the Shepparton Sports Precinct:

• GSSC McGuire Campus – Year 7 & 11

• St Mel’s – Prep & Year 3 /4

• Orrvale Primary School – Year 5/6

All other people from current Tier 1 Exposure sites in Shepparton can present at the three other testing locations detailed above.

To save you time at the testing clinic, you can now register for a COVID-19 test online. To register, simply complete the online form at: https://testtracker.covid19.dhhs.vic.gov.au/citizen-prefill Then present your unique registration code when you arrive at the testing site.

Testing is available in other locations in the region and details can be found at https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/where-get-tested-covid-19

Testing wait times yesterday quickly ballooned to up to four hours as thousands of people tried to get tested.

By mid-afternoon on Saturday, capacity at the testing clinics had been reached, with Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp apologising for the testing delay.

"I acknowledge people waited for a number of hours today at testing sites in Shepparton and I apologise for these delays.  We are working as hard and as fast as we can and are aiming to reduce waiting times in coming days," he said. 

"Given the number of Tier 1 schools and the large number of students, staff and their household contacts, we anticipate the need to test thousands of people for COVID-19."  

UPDATE, 7am: More exposure sites added

Greater Shepparton Secondary College’s Invergordon campus has been classified as a Tier 2 exposure site, as the exposure list continues to grow.

Dates of concern are listed as Monday, August 16 to Friday, August 20 after a case attended the location. The Department of Health says anyone who has visited the location during these times should get tested, then isolate until confirmation of a negative result.

St Mel’s Primary School, Orrvale Primary and Greater Shepparton Secondary College’s McGuire, Mooroopna and Wanganui campuses had all been listed as Tier 1 exposure sites across Friday and Saturday, forcing thousands of local students, teachers and their families into isolation.

GV Health chief executive Matt Sharp said Saturday morning that classes of concern are Year 7 and Year 11 year levels at GSSC McGuire campus, Prep and Year 3/4 classes at St Mel’s Primary and Year 5/6 classes at Orrvale Primary School.

“All other students, teachers and household contacts from the schools above should quarantine at home and keep safe until you are notified by the contact tracing team,” Mr Sharp said on Saturday morning.

Health authorities spoke with families connected to the GSSC campuses on Saturday night, warning that without all students, teachers and their households completing 14 day quarantine, the town could see thousands of cases in a months time.

To ease the pressure on testing while resources are ramped up, health authorities told the meeting of GSSC families that only students are required to get a COVID-19 test. Family members should only get tested if they have symptoms.

We’ll be updating the list of exposure sites here.

On Friday morning a Kialla man in his 30s tested positive to COVID-19, and by Friday evening 16 more people - including 11 family members across two households - had tested positive. By Saturday afternoon the figure had reached 21 cases. 

Several others were added late on Friday night, including Coles Click and Collect, Derrimut 24:7 gym, Farm Fresh Fruit and Veg, and Lake Amaroo. 

More joined the list on Saturday, including a Woolworths and Aldi supermarket, a local doctor, a chemist, SPC Factory Sales and Aquamoves.

More information can also be found on the Department of Health's website. 

Testing is available from GV Health Acute Respiratory Clinic on Graham St, the Shepparton Sports Precinct drive-through clinic, Shepparton Harness Racing Club drive-through clinic and Shepparton Showgrounds Multipurpose Pavilion drive-through clinic.

The Shepparton Sports Precinct testing site is to be exclusively for close contacts in prep and Years 3 and 4 St Mel's, Years 7 and 11 at McGuire campus of Greater Shepparton Secondary College and Years 5 and 6 at Orrvale Primary School. All other people needing testing are asked to use other sites.

It will be open from 8.30am, while the walk-up Respiratory Clinic at GV Health will open from 8am, while the drive-through clinic at the Shepparton Greyhound and Trotting Track in Kialla will open from 9am.

The new site at the Showgrounds will be open from 2pm, and will be best accessed by Archer Rd - enter from the extension from Fryers St as more assistance from Bendigo, Melbourne and other centres arrives in Shepparton.

Testing is NOT available at the McIntosh Centre vaccination hub.

You can register for COVID-19 tests to help make it quicker when you turn up. The link to that can be made here - it's not a link to book a test. 

Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp apologied for delays in testing on Saturday, with staff in isolation making work difficult for the GV Health team. 

"I acknowledge people waited for a number of hours today at testing sites in Shepparton and I apologise for these delays.  We are working as hard and as fast as we can and are aiming to reduce waiting times in coming days," he said. 

"Given the number of Tier 1 schools and the large number of students, staff and their household contacts, we anticipate the need to test thousands of people for COVID-19."  

Here's a link to yesterday's coverage to ensure you haven't missed anything.