The news comes as health authorities fear further cases of the virus will be detected in private aged care facilities in Melbourne following three confirmed infections, including a 99-year-old woman and an aged care staff member who worked across at least two homes, were linked to an outbreak at Arcare Maidstone after a worker at the Melbourne facility earlier returned a positive result.

The news sparked concern after it was revealed that bans on aged care staff working at more than one facility had been lifted by the federal government late last year and only reinstated last week.

Some 655 aged care residents died during last year's second wave of COVID-19. Most caught the virus from staff, many of whom worked across multiple facilities.

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The question of making vaccines compulsory for aged care staff has been referred to medical experts and state chief health officers.

"We strongly encourage all staff and community members to protect themselves, their families and the community by choosing to have the vaccination when they are eligible," BHS said in a statement on Monday.

More than 3000 residents from across the Ballarat region were vaccinated through BHS between Friday and Sunday, the bulk at the Mercure clinic, with hundreds more receiving the jab through their GPs or UFS.

BHS said their vaccination clinic at the Mercure had seen an increase in demand for the COVID-19 vaccine following the outbreak in Melbourne and vaccines being opened to those aged 40-49.

"We thank community members who have queued for their patience and positivity," they said.

On Saturday, the wait for walk-ins arriving without an appointment stretched to four hours.

The clinic has also spread into a larger space to help increase capacity to around 1000 vaccinations per day dependent on vaccination supply.

A spokesperson said there were appointments available within a week for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccinations, but bookings are managed by the central state government booking system.

Acting Premier James Merlino confirmed a further six locally acquired COVID cases were detected past the midnight cut-off, in addition to the five already reported on Monday.

"There is no doubt, the situation is incredibly serious. The next few days remain critical," he said. ."I want to be very clear with everyone, this outbreak may well get worse before it gets better."

Health officials have identified 4200 primary close contacts across 290 exposure sites, with 77 per cent of those returning negative tests so far.

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