Victoria to keep border shut to NSW over Christmas

The state has declared Greater Sydney and the Central Coast "red zones", following a coronavirus outbreak in the northern beaches that has grown to 97 cases.

Anyone who lives in or has visited those areas must undergo a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine if they wish to enter Victoria.

Those travelling from regional NSW need a border permit to enter Victoria, although border communities are exempt.

Victoria's COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed on Wednesday the restrictions will remain in place over Christmas.

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"Nobody wants to be here the day before Christmas Eve talking about border closures. Nobody wants to be here with people not being able to go and see family and friends either coming into Victoria or Victorians going out to Greater Sydney," he told reporters.

"But this is a safety issue. This is about the health of the wider community. We will watch this day-by-day and when it's safe to do so, we'll ease the restrictions."

When asked if restrictions will ease on Christmas Eve, Mr Weimar replied: "We're not going to do it tomorrow".

He revealed 35 people are now in hotel quarantine after flying into Melbourne Airport from the red zones without a permit.

"No system at their end is foolproof but we are catching people at our end. Every single flight is being met by our authorised officers," he said.

About 4296 Victorians returning from the red zones are self-isolating at home after they made it back before the border closed. All are required to undergo testing.

Victoria recorded one new case of coronavirus in hotel quarantine on Wednesday, with no further cases linked to the NSW outbreak.

The new overseas-acquired case brings the total active infections in hotel quarantine to 10.

Almost 23,000 people were tested for the virus on Tuesday, including about 7000 people who had visited the red zones.

It comes after a Melbourne teenager tested positive on Tuesday after returning from a family holiday to the northern beaches.

The 15-year-old girl visited several NSW exposure sites before driving home to Melbourne with her mother and stopping at Gundagai's Oliver's Real Food along the way.

Mr Weimar said four other family members have tested negative to the virus and are currently not infectious.

The family are isolating together at their home in the Moonee Valley local government area.

"We have a lot of support in place for that family and again, I thank them for the excellent work they've done in getting tested early on and isolating so effectively," Mr Weimar said.

There are no known exposure sites in the state and all close contacts of the family have been tested and cleared.