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Health authorities will be hopeful Victoria's new lockdown has come in time to control the current coronavirus outbreak after only five new cases were revealed on Saturday.

But despite the positive signs amidst a record testing blitz, there remain hundreds of exposure sites visited by positive COVID cases that have contact tracers on edge.

"We don't know what's in stall for us in the next 24 hours," DHHS Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said on Saturday as he urged people to continue being tested and vaccinated despite long wait times.

READ MORE: Violence breaks out at Melbourne lockdown protest

READ MORE: Victorians wait up to six hours for COVID vaccine

The current outbreak has grown to 35 cases, which have all been linked to the City of Whittlesea and Port Melbourne Workplace outbreaks.

While the case load has not exploded, the list of exposure sites just keeps growing, with contact tracers spending the weekend urgently trying to reach people who have crossed paths with confirmed new cases.

There are more than 3000 primary close contacts, of which 63 per cent had already tested negative to COVID-19 as of Saturday morning.

The most concerning of the new cases is a delivery driver who visited several small food and grocery stores across Melbourne whilst infectious, leading to more than a dozen exposure sites.

"All have been contacted, all have been closed down, and testing is well underway for all of those sites," Health Minister Martin Foley said.

Mr Foley said it was too early to say whether the lockdown would lift on Friday as planned.

Further raising hopes was the turnout at vaccination hubs on Saturday, where some people waited up to six hours to get their jab.

"If we're going to crush this thing in seven days, we all need to do the right thing," Mr Weimar said.

Anti-lockdown protesters halted

Whilst the vast majority have been abiding the new rules, a raucous few clashed with police in anti-lockdown and anti-mask protests on Saturday.

Hundreds had tried to gather at the Flagstaff Gardens park but were stopped by police.

Fourteen people were arrested and 55 were issued fines.

Two police officers were injured as tempers flared.

Some demonstrators did try to march but they only got as far as the Queen Victoria Market.

One woman was caught breathing heavily on the media. She laughed, ran off, and was then arrested.

Victoria Police said there would be a high police presence across the CBD, on roads, and across the public transport network throughout the lockdown, with a zero-tolerance approach towards those caught deliberately breaking the rules.

A Western Sydney father is recovering after being seriously assaulted by a group of young men.

David Lee was driving a semi-trailer along Pendock Road, Cranebrook, on Friday afternoon when a group of people began throwing rocks at his vehicle.

READ MORE: Two people airlifted to hospital and horses killed in NSW Hunter Region crash

The 53-year-old man stopped the truck and left the vehicle holding a crowbar, but the group ran off.

When he returned to the truck, he was approached by six men aged in their 20s carrying bottles.

As he attempted to climb back into the cabin, he was hit in the back of the head with a bottle before being dragged to the ground and attacked.

READ MORE: Village-style quarantine hub in Victoria close to being approved by Morrison government

He was repeatedly punched and kicked before being hit with the crowbar he had been holding.

"I thought I was going to die in the end," he said.

Six men allegedly dragged Mr Lee to the ground, punching and kicking him – repeatedly before allegedly hitting him with his own crowbar.

A witness came to Mr Lee's aid and the group of men ran off.

"I heard someone say 'stop, stop, you'll kill him'. I didn't even see them run away because I was on the ground, blood coming out of my head," Mr Lee said.

Officers later found Mr Lee and he was taken to Nepean Hospital suffering cuts and bruises to his head and body as well as possible rib fractures.

It could be weeks until he can return to work.

As for the men responsible – detectives are hunting them down, with an investigation underway.

Anyone with information should contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Hundreds of police officers swarmed Melbourne today in a show of force against anti-lockdown demonstrators.

Fourteen people were arrested and 55 were issued fines.

Charges included assaulting police, affray and breaching the Chief Health Officer's directives.

READ MORE: Melbourne school listed as exposure site after student tests positive

Two police officers were injured during the protests.

Authorities warned organisers to call off the demonstrations last night.

Despite that, hundreds still tried to gather at the Flagstaff Gardens park but police didn't give them the chance.

Officers were on high alert right across the city from Flinders Street Station to State Parliament.

READ MORE: Vaccination system crashes in Victoria, as demand spikes

Police formed a ring of steel around the Melbourne park and pounced on protestors as they entered.

Almost all of the protestors were maskless. Officers attempted to provide face-coverings to those without.

Some demonstrators did try to march but they only got as far as the Queen Victoria Market.

READ MORE: Five new coronavirus cases diagnosed in Victoria

One woman was caught breathing heavily on the media. She laughed, ran off, and was then arrested.

Victoria Police said there would be a high police presence across the CBD, on roads, and across the public transport network throughout the lockdown, with a zero-tolerance approach towards those caught deliberately breaking the rules.

The southern Chinese city of Guangzhou shut down a neighbourhood and ordered its residents to stay home Saturday for door-to-door coronavirus testing following an upsurge in infections that has rattled authorities.

Guangzhou, a business and industrial centre of 15 million people north of Hong Hong, has reported 20 new infections over the past week. The number is small compared with India's thousands of daily cases but alarmed Chinese authorities who believed they had the disease under control.

The spread of infections was "fast and strong," the official Global Times newspaper cited health authorities as saying.

READ MORE: Biden orders more intel investigation of COVID-19 origin, China hits back

Saturday's order to stay home applied to residents of five streets in Liwan District in the city centre.

Outdoor markets, child care centres and entertainment venues were closed. Indoor restaurant dining was prohibited. Grade schools were told to stop in-person classes.

People in parts of four nearby districts were ordered to limit outdoor activity.

The city government earlier ordered testing of hundreds of thousands of residents following the initial infections. The government said some 700,000 people had been tested by Wednesday.

READ MORE: Why the COVID-19 origin controversy matters

China reports a handful of new cases every day but says almost all are believed to be people who were infected abroad. The mainland's official death toll stands at 4636 out of 91,061 confirmed cases.

On Saturday, the National Health Commission reported two new locally transmitted cases in Guangzhou and 14 in other parts of the country that it said came from abroad.

Most of the latest infections in Guangzhou are believed to be linked to a 75-year-old woman who was found May 21 to have the variant first identified in India, state media say. Most of the others attended a dinner with her or live together.

That infection spread to the nearby city of Nanshan, where one new confirmed case and two asymptomatic cases were reported Saturday after people from Guangzhou were tested, according to The Global Times.

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