However, there was more concerning news for residents of Golden Plains, with three further cases in the municipality, taking the area to a total of eight active infections.

Moorabool Shire also saw an increase, with two more active cases recorded in that government area.

The results comes on a day when Victoria recorded another rise in infections, with 374 further cases of the infection reported overnight. It was the second highest total of new cases since the pandemic began.

Ballarat still has a total of 20 cases since the pandemic began, with nine of them now active.

On Monday, two patients were confirmed to be in Ballarat base hospital. A spokesperson for the hospital confirmed one patient is from the Bill Crawford Lodge.

The Courier has asked for further details about where the second in-patient was infected but has not received a response.

On Thursday last week, the first active case in two months was reported in the Ballarat local government area. The previous positive case dated back to May 17.

However, there were four more announced in Ballarat on Friday, three more on Saturday and one on Monday.

The tally has been increasing slowly but significantly in regional areas.

The cluster in Colac-Otway - linked to a meatworks in Colac - continues to expand. There are now 27 active cases in that area.

Two schools have closed in the Geelong area, while remote learning begins again for most of the students in lockdown areas of Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.

On Saturday, a new testing clinic was announced at the Ballarat Seniors Centre on Little Bridge Street.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

For more information on COVID-19, visit: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.

The Courier has removed the paywall from our stories relating to health warnings and safety of the community in regards to the coronavirus. However, we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.