Premier Daniel Andrews this morning announced the lockdown would be extended to include regional Victoria from 1pm today as he expressed concern about the spread of the virus through regional Victoria.

The same conditions will apply in regional Victoria as in Melbourne and there will be only five reasons to leave home: to get food and supplies, to exercise for up to two hours no more than 5km from your home, for care or caregiving, authorised work or education if you can't do it from home, or to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location.

The lockdown has been flagged to last until 11.59pm Thursday, September 2.

However, unlike in Melbourne, there will not be a curfew in regional Victoria.

Worker permits will be required for authorised workers from 11.59pm on Monday.

Meanwhile, playgrounds, basketball hoops, skate parks and outdoor exercise equipment will be closed while exercise will be limited to with just one other person, plus dependants if they can't be left at home.

Visitors are still not permitted at homes.

There are also changes to childcare centres, with all childcare centres across Victoria to close except to children whose parents are authorised workers and cannot be supervised at home. Vulnerable children can still attend. A permit system will apply, and further details will be available soon.

Face masks will continue to be mandatory indoors and outdoors unless an exception applies.

With the number of cases in young people and children during this outbreak - with around 80 per cent of cases under 40 and around 25 per cent under nine - Victoria's public health team are also strongly recommending that primary school aged children, when they are not at home, also wear a mask as an extra precaution against this virus.

Premier Andrews conceded there was not a lot of notice about the lockdown, "but this virus moves so fast and there is a significant risk".

Expressing "regret" about the decision, he said:

"We shouldn't be having debates. The judgement of public health experts is that [the lockdown] should be statewide. The five reasons to leave home will apply to all of Regional Victoria just as all of Melbourne."

His message to Victorians was to stick together and for everyone to play their part to tackle the outbreak.

"There is every reason for us to be confident. We have done this before and we can do it again but only if we all do as we need to do.

"It's across Melbourne, into the regions and we all need to take it seriously and we all need to act accordingly," he said, urging people to stay home this weekend despite "beautiful" weather.

"Please make good choices for your family and every family."

It comes after the state recorded 77 new local cases of COVID-19.

Of those, 61 were from the reporting period with 22 in quarantine during their infectious period. Contact tracers have identified the source of 48 of those cases.

There are an additional 16 cases recorded in Shepparton that will be reflected in tomorrow's data.

Premier Andrews said the cases brought the number of active cases in Victoria to 389, with 18 people in hospital, eight people in ICU and two people on ventilators.

The cases currently in hospital include people in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

Premier Andrews said it was essential for people to come forward for a test as soon as they register symptoms, after some of the people in Saturday's numbers had "not been quick to get tested".

"From today's numbers, some people have not been quick to get tested. They had symptoms for a period of time and unknowingly spread the virus," he said.

"It is really important that everyone with symptoms goes and gets tested as soon as they register those symptoms."

Premier Andrews also urged people to get vaccinated, stating that there were thousands of appointments available across the state.

"Lockdowns are our short term weapon against this but our long-term strategy to be open, to be growing, to be employing, to be in a very different world is for 80 per cent of people to be vaccinated".