Update, 3.30pm: Bulla Dairy Foods chief executive Allan Hood has slammed the Department of Health and Human Services' reporting of coronavirus cases in Colac, saying he has been left in the dark about infections linked to his own company.
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For the second day in a row DHHS has reported "17 active cases linked to Bulla Dairy Foods in Colac".
But Mr Hood said he only knew of seven cases linked to Bulla - six employees and one household contact - and has "no idea" where the other 10 cases have come from.
"We have been made aware that the DHHS is reporting there are 17 active cases linked to Bulla, however, we have not been advised of these 10 additional cases that are being linked to Bulla and can confirm that our employee testing only returned seven positive cases to date," he said.
In response to questions from The Standard, the department maintained that there were 17 cases linked to the dairy giant - six employees and 11 contacts.
The DHHS website states "organisation-based outbreak totals include contacts as well as employees/residents/staff/students of that location/business".
The website defines close contacts as "a person who has had face-to-face contact for more than 15 minutes, or has shared a closed space for more than two hours with a confirmed case of coronavirus when they were infectious".
The second wave of the virus in Colac-Otway Shire is understood to have come from a Colac man who travelled to a Melbourne hospital for urgent treatment.
There are now 33 active cases in the shire, with multiple businesses impacted by the infected man, dubbed Colac's 'patient zero'.
There have been a total of 131 cases in Colac-Otway Shire to date.
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DHHS figures released on Friday showed Corangamite Shire and Surf Coast Shire are back to zero cases.
There remains one case in Warrnambool, and zero cases in Glenelg, Moyne, Ballarat, Golden Plains and Southern Grampians Shires.
There are 10 cases in Geelong, six in Moorabool, two in Bendigo and two in Horsham.
Four new cases in Colac as Victoria records 43 new infections, nine deaths
Earlier, 12pm: COLAC has recorded four new cases overnight as Victoria records 43 new infections and nine deaths.
That brings cases in Colac-Otway Shire to 33.
There's one new case in Geelong at 10 cases, one new in Bendigo at two and zero remain in Ballarat.
Regional Victoria's daily case average is now at 4.7 and 65.3 in metropolitan Melbourne.
"Regional Victoria is poised to take at least a step and possibly two steps, we'll have more to say about that next week," Premier Daniel Andrews said on Friday.
"Colac is a very clear sign that team is working hard and delivering very good results.
"To pull that up at 25 to 30 cases when there could have been so many more is a real testament."
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Allen Cheng said the Colac cases were part of a cluster and were all of known origins.
He said the Geelong case was a contact of a known case and the Bendigo case was part of a family cluster.
Victoria has recorded 43 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, eight fewer than on Thursday.
A further nine lives have been lost due to the virus, which has claimed 710 lives.
The deaths include one woman in her 50s, one woman in her 70s, three men in their 80s and four women in their 90s.
Seven of the deaths are linked to aged care outbreaks.
There are 140 Victorians in hospital, with 12 in intensive care and eight on ventilators.
There have been 13,341 additional COVID-19 tests since yesterday, with 100 per cent being contacted in 24 hours.
There are 4303 mystery cases with an unknown source, an decrease of three.
Of the state's 1336 active cases, 223 are healthcare workers, 74 are in regional Victoria - an increase of three cases, 13 in disability settings (seven staff, six residents), and 665 in aged care.
4229 shifts have been filled in aged care.
The number follows 51 new cases on Thursday, 76 new cases on Wednesday, 55 new cases on Tuesday, 41 new cases on Monday, 63 new cases on Sunday and 76 new cases on Saturday.
On Thursday, there were 72 active cases in regional local government areas, and the rolling 14-day average was 4.5.
However, there were still 11 mystery cases in the two weeks up until September 6 (the latest data currently available).
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said there had been a concerning drop in presentations to emergency departments and general practitioners.
"Health services are reporting declining and concerning attendance in emergency departments suggesting people are putting off seeking important and urgent medical care that can make a difference to your life," she said.
She said August was usually the busiest time for hospitals when the state is typically in the peak of the flu season, but there had been an 80 per cent drop in flu compared to the three-year average.
Presentations to hospital for heart attacks are down 18 per cent, strokes down 24 per cent, and cancer screening has had a 30 per cent reduction for the five most common cancers.
"This is very concerning because deferred care can lead to worse health outcomes, it can lead to tragedy and I'm urging Victorians to continue to visit their GP and if you have any concerning lumps, bumps or symptoms please do not defer seeking medical care," Minister Mikakos said.
"It may in fact save your life."
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