An illegal gathering is believed to be at the centre of a south-west Victorian town's second coronavirus spike.
Colac's second outbreak began after a man became infected with the virus while in a Melbourne hospital undergoing treatment.
Unaware that he was infected, the man returned home and spread the virus to his family.
From there, the virus spread through the community, leading to the temporary closure of two major workplaces — a Bulla ice cream factory and the Australian Lamb Company abattoir, which was the site of the town's first outbreak.
It is understood an illegal gathering on August 29th facilitated the spread through the community.
This has led to active COVID-19 cases in the Colac Otway Shire jumping from eight, in the days prior to the party, to 25 on September 8.
Police are investigating the matter but have declined to comment.
The ABC understands police only found out about the party after the fact.
No complaints were made about it at the time.
Police are yet to issue fines due to concerns doing so might limit the amount of information partygoers are willing to give to contact tracers.
The second spike follows an earlier cluster that sprang up around the Australian Lamb Company abattoir and rapidly grew to almost 100 cases.
