The Federal Government is today set to officially back a purpose-built quarantine facility in Victoria.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is expected to announce $200 million in funding for the open-air facility near Avalon Airport, about 56km from Melbourne's CBD, after today's National cabinet meeting.
The facility will be modelled from the existing quarantine camp in Howard Springs and it is understood more flights would be diverted to Avalon, where 800 hectares of unoccupied paddocks sit.
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Clinical epidemiologist Nancy Baxter told Today the new facility would help stop people in hotel quarantine catching the virus from other returned travellers.
"It will allow our high-risk travellers be to housed in purpose-built accommodation and quarantine that ensures we protect the people in hotel quarantine getting COVID and protects the workers," Professor Baxter, of Melbourne University, said.
She said the new facility would likely be used to house travellers from high risk coronavirus countries.
The new Victorian facility is expected to be completed by September.
The facility will be run by state authorities, however, and will be built on the provision that it adds to existing quarantine programs, rather than replacing them.
Mr Morrison has sent a Memorandum of Understanding to Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino with federal pledges on the cost of the construction.
The Federal Government owns the land at Avalon and was chosen as the preferred site over an alternative one at Mickleham.
Meanwhile two fleeting transmission cases in Victoria have now been deemed as false positives.
Victoria's Department of Health confirmed a woman who visited a display home and a man who visited Brighton Beach Hotel would no longer be considered positive coronavirus cases after expert analysis.
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The reclassifying of the two cases is expected to reignite debate on the lockdown situation and the suspected contagiousness of the variant in question, given the significance of fears it was being spread between strangers.
"These cases will be reclassified and no longer considered confirmed cases. Primary close contacts who are linked only to these cases and not to other exposure sites will be released," the department said in a statement.
"Any exposure sites linked only to these cases will be stood down, including every exposure site in Anglesea."
At least four venues in Anglesea, including the only supermarket, an IGA, were listed as exposure sites this week.
Brighton Beach Hotel and the Metricon display home site will remain exposure sites because they are linked to other cases.
The department said individuals need to wait for formal clearance before they leave isolation, adding the cases were listed out of an abundance of caution.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton on Wednesday said the lockdown would be reviewed day-by-day, adding he had "great confidence" the restrictions could ease by the end of next week.
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