Victoria has recorded a new coronavirus case after initially revelling in a day of no infections.
The Department of Health on Wednesday afternoon confirmed the case is a teacher at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina, west of Melbourne.
The source of the infection is currently under investigation and household contacts of the case are being tested.
Al-Taqwa College will close while transmission risks are being assessed, and all students and staff will be instructed via direct communications to get tested and isolate until further notice.
Earlier in the day, authorities had warned Victorians would not get an early rules reprieve despite the state initially notching its first COVID-19 clean sheet since the fifth lockdown.
COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said it was cause for quiet celebration and satisfaction.
"It's a symbolic marking of a point where there's no more COVID cases," he told reporters.
"It means we're on track with the strategy that we set three or four weeks ago."
But it has not inspired health officials to bring forward a review on restrictions and the current batch will remain in place until 10 August.
"We still have active cases in our community right here that we know about ... we've still got just under 3000 primary close contacts ... and we still have ongoing risks in the rest of the eastern seaboard," he said.
He noted it was only a week ago that officials were caught off guard by the unlinked case of a Moonee Valley testing site traffic controller.
It remains unclear how the man caught the virus, but Mr Weimar said a review into the source of his infection would ramp up on Wednesday afternoon.
"There's a strong line of investigation around some movements that he had at work," he said.
Premier Daniel Andrews similarly cited Sydney's Delta outbreak as a reason for the state to take "cautious steps" towards greater freedoms.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews Source: AAP
"I fully acknowledge that there are some rules that are on at the moment that are very difficult, but they are nothing compared to being locked down again," he said outside parliament.
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien, however, seized on the figures to call for the ban on home visits to be lifted and the 25 per cent cap on workers in offices to be increased.
"Our city is a ghost town," he said.
The Victorian-NSW border bubble also officially tightened for residents just before midnight on Wednesday, with all non-essential movement across state lines outlawed.
With SBS News.
