Victorian officials considering lockdown as Melbourne airport cluster rises to 13.

Authorities have worked into the night to identify any additional exposure sites stemming from Victoria's growing Holiday Inn outbreak.

The Melbourne Airport quarantine hotel cluster has risen to 13 cases, with fears of a third wave rising.

Among the new cases are a female assistant manager at the hotel and two men, both partners of female food and beverage attendants.

One of the spouses may be linked to Camberwell Grammar School in Melbourne's east.

"We believe there will be some additional exposure sites emerging from some of these cases," Victoria's COVID-19 testing boss Jeroen Weimar told reporters on Thursday.

Melbourne is reportedly on the verge of a snap lockdown after the Holiday Inn coronavirus outbreak grew to 13 cases overnight. @NathanJCurrie and @NathanTemp7 are there with the latest. List of exposure sites: https://t.co/JrNo6Lzdjm pic.twitter.com/2BjTWNtWKj

— Sunrise (@sunriseon7)

"That work needs to be done over the coming hours."

Clinical epidemiologist Professor Nancy Baxter toldTodaya third lockdown could be beneficial for Victoria.

"We now have four cases of community transmission from hotel quarantine workers which is the first time we've had community transmission from hotel quarantine breach since the second wave in Victoria," Professor Baxter said.

The emerging cluster has prompted several states to tighten their borders to travellers from Greater Melbourne.

South Australia locked out travellers from the Victorian capital at midnight on Thursday, while Queensland will bar entry to visitors of the city's exposure sites from 1am on Saturday.

Western Australia also announced its hard border to Victoria would be extended for at least another seven days.

Pete Evans announces he will run for the Senate as a Great Australia Party candidate.

Celebrity chef and controversial anti-vaxxer Pete Evans has confirmed he will join politics and run for the Senate with former One Nation senator Rod Culleton’s The Great Australian Party.

"Pete Evans has maintained his principles and inspired others in the face of uncommon adversity,” a statement from Mr Culleton said overnight. “Pete is fully supportive of the GAP ethos, supporting restoration of the Commonwealth and the preservation of democracy in Australia."

Evans teased the news a month ago on his Instagram.

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing," he wrote next to a logo for The Great Australian Party.

Evans has previously tried to sell an 'energy machine' to treat COVID-19, was dumped by his publisher for posting a well-known Nazi symbol, has suggested bone broth as an alternative to baby formula, thinks the Paleo diet can treat autism and cancer and thinks the entire pandemic is a conspiracy.

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Sydney mask, hospitality restrictions ease.

Twice as many customers will be allowed back in NSW cafes and restaurants from Friday, with a suite of restrictions relaxing across Greater Sydney.

The state has reverted back to the two-square-metre rule for indoor venues and outdoor events, and mandatory mask use has been scrapped in a number of settings.

Face coverings are now optional in hairdressers, beauty salons, places of worship and hospitality, but will remain mandatory on public transport, in taxis and Ubers.

COVID-19 restrictions will be further eased and the 2sqm rule reintroduced across the Greater Sydney region following updated health advice from the NSW Chief Health Officer #smallbusiness https://t.co/DMGHkIvLSo

— NSWSmallBizCom (@NSWSmallBizCom)

When announcing the changes on Wednesday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said while masks would become optional in many indoor places, they are still strongly recommended.

Gyms will maintain the four-square-metre rule, while caps on weddings and funerals remain at 300.

Only 20 guests will be allowed to dance at weddings and singing in public remains capped to five people.

Vaccines bound for Australia after EU approval.

Australia's first shipment of coronavirus vaccines has been formally approved by the European Union and will arrive in the country within weeks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not said when the jabs will reach Australian shores, but he will have more to say "in the not too distant future".

He praised the health and foreign affairs ministers for their work in navigating the European export restrictions, and acknowledged the "extreme pressures" on European vaccine supplies.

"Australia has done very well to maintain our supply lines here as has been confirmed by the European Union," he told reporters in Melbourne on Thursday.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says confirmation the EU would not block Pfizer exports to Australia means the vaccine rollout is on track.

"We are definitely on track for the first vaccines in Australia of the already TGA-approved Pfizer vaccine before the end of February."

Nadal beats Mmoh, and heckler, at Australian Open as Aussie champion makes early exit.

Rafael Nadal has laughed off a crowd heckling interruption to win his second-round Australian Open clash with American Michael Mmoh.

The world No.2 was on Rod Laver Arena for less than two hours as he took down the qualifier 6-1 6-4 6-2.

The match was briefly stopped late in the second set as a woman started shouting at Nadal for no apparent reason.

Despite the spectator yelling obscenities and raising her finger at him, the Spaniard simply smiled and watched as security escorted her out of Melbourne Park.

When asked on-court post-match if he knew the woman, Nadal replied: "No, and honest