Victoria's lockdown is at risk of being extended after a doubling of coronavirus infections which Melbourne's Lord Mayor has described as potentially "devastating".
The state's roadmap to freedom may need to be paused or modified due to yesterday's record-breaking numbers, with 1438 new infections recorded.
Health officials said 500 of those are linked to illegal AFL grand final parties held last weekend.
READ MORE: Illegal grand final parties partly blamed for Victoria's spike in cases
Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said considerations need to be given to the impacts of lockdown amid fears the city's roadmap out could be extended after the case spike.
"For the rules to change at this stage would be devastating for so many people," Ms Capp told Today.
"They really want to know that if we do the right thing and hit the restrictions, if we get vaccinated, that we can still open.
"We also hear a lot of chatter about the fact that we count the daily health cost of the pandemic and we've been doing that for 18 months now.
"But we're not counting the daily cost of lockdowns and border closures, both on health and on the economics, and we really need to start focussing on how do we live with this virus and get ourselves open."
COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar described the household gatherings as as a city-wide superspreading event, pushing the virus into new pockets of Melbourne.
Much will ride on today's numbers, with Mr Weimar hinting that the lockdown could go on for longer if the high numbers become a trend.
He called the case numbers a "significant setback" in the roadmap out of lockdowns.
"If this trend is continued, if we see similar case numbers over the coming days, then we'll go from just below the mean on the Burnet projection.
"We were tracking favourably, we'll jump to the worst."
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Meantime, the city's tram services will be disrupted today after a driver tested positive, sending a number of people into self-isolation.
Those services that will be affected include numbers 57, 58, 59 and 82.
Around 49.8 per cent of Victorians are now fully vaccinated.
Yesterday Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced that all Australians over 60 would have access to the mRNA Pfizer and Moderna jabs from GPs and pharmacies from today.
But Victoria's state-run hubs would not administer Pfizer vaccines to older people.
"Victoria's state-run hubs continue to prioritise access to Pfizer for people under 60, including teenagers who have no alternative option for vaccination," a government spokeswoman said.
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