Victorians have been urged to think of their "civic responsibility" to help prevent the spread of coronavirus as cinemas, shops and supermarkets ramped up social-distancing measures this weekend.

Key points: Crown Casino is being asked to comply with social gathering rules

Crown Casino is being asked to comply with social gathering rules Victoria Police are conducting spot checks on people self-isolating

Victoria Police are conducting spot checks on people self-isolating Schools remain open but are preparing for a possible future shutdown

Another 51 people in Victoria had tested positive for coronavirus, the State Government revealed on Saturday, taking the state's total number of cases to 229.

Victoria's chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said part of the sharp rise in cases was due to the Federal Government announcing the level four travel advisory that flagged to Australians they should come home.

"We might have had a rush of people back to Australia, many of those will have been exposed overseas and are now becoming positive," Professor Sutton said.

He said the uptick highlighted the need for people exposed to confirmed cases to self-isolate properly.

Melbourne Vietnamese restaurant miss chu has begun to attach temperature readings of its chefs to home-delivered meals. ( ABC News: Joseph Dunstan )

"I have heard of cases where people have left home isolation when they were supposed to be in that 14-day quarantine period, and we've heard from some newly confirmed cases that they have had close contacts when they were unwell," he said.

"So everyone who is unwell needs to isolate themselves and everyone who is told they are in quarantine either as a return traveller or as a close contact must stay at home."

Preventing virus spread is 'protecting your family'

Professor Sutton said that the criteria for COVID-19 testing had been expanded to include anyone in hospital or nursing homes suffering from respiratory illness, not just pneumonia.

He also emphasised that younger people did not seem to be getting the message about social distancing — ensuring that in all social settings they remained 1.5–2 metres away from each other.

"Someone is dying every two minutes in Italy from coronavirus," he said.

"So if you care about the people around you, if you think about protecting your family, your parents and grandparents — especially those in the vulnerable groups — then you have to think about making that distance between you and other people in all settings at all times."

Businesses adapt to latest round of restrictions

Tighter gathering restrictions were introduced on Friday, banning non-essential indoor gatherings of fewer than 100 people, and mandating 4 square metres of space for every person at an indoor gathering of fewer than 100 people.

Butcher Steve Goodman, the manager of Ashburton Meats in Melbourne's south-east, put up signs on Saturday morning stating that only six customers were permitted inside the store at a time.

"Most customers were happy to wait outside and understood why they couldn't all come in at once," he said.

Ashburton Meats manager Steve Goodman said most customers had supported the store's six-customer limit. ( ABC News: Cathy Jacobs )

Mr Goodman said while his team had been working "around the clock" to keep up with demand for meat, they did not have to ration supplies as "most customers have been pretty good".

The tougher restrictions have also affected the state's cinemas, with Hoyts reducing the number of seats for sale in order to comply with the latest social-distancing measures.

Hoyts has introduced social-distancing messages throughout its online booking process. ( hoyts.com.au )

On Thursday, Palace Cinemas announced it would close all of its cinemas indefinitely "to protect both our staff and patrons".

The restrictions appeared to have a big impact at the Northland Shopping Centre Hoyts, where the usual Friday-night queue of patrons was absent.

Several cinemas have closed across the state, and those that remain open have seen a drop in customers. ( ABC News: Joseph Dunstan )

In a statement, Hoyts confirmed they had experienced a drop in bookings.

"We are reviewing the situation on a day-to-day basis to ensure that we can continue to operate safely and in the best interests of our guests and team members," the statement said.

Event Cinemas told the ABC that it had also reconfigured its seating maps and ramped up sterilisation of its cinemas as it aimed to keep operating.

Stickers were even used at a Woolworths store in Belgrave in Melbourne's east, which directed customers to stand on an X when in front of an aisle in order to maintain a healthy distance from other shoppers.

A very quiet Friday night at Northland Shopping Centre saw some films screened to nearly empty Hoyts cinemas. ( ABC News: Joseph Dunstan )

Exemption for Crown 'now over'

During a press conference to announce details of a $1.7 billion assistance package for businesses, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Saturday urged the public to take social distancing and self-isolation orders seriously to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Melbourne's Crown Casino will no longer have an exemption from social-distancing rules. ( ABC News: Jane Cowan )

"Nobody should underestimate in any way just how serious this crisis is," Mr Andrews said.

"We are asking a lot of Victorians, but there is simply no choice but to work together to make decisions based on the best advice, to think about yourself, the people that you love and indeed people you have never met.

"There is a civic responsibility to do the right thing."

The City of Melbourne this week announced a support package for traders at Queen Victoria Market. ( ABC News: Danielle Bonica )

Mr Andrews advised that Melbourne's Crown Casino, which had been previously exempt from social gathering rules, was now being asked to comply.

"That exemption is now over," Mr Andrews said.

"The chief health officer has effectively revoked that [exemption] and now Crown, like every other venue, will need to comply with the new orders.

"They will need to apply the same rules that are applied everywhere else because now we have reached the time where the chief health officer, in his judgment, he is not confident that the arrangements that were in place — and were appropriate — are appropriate for the future.

"We have always said we will follow advice, but advice will change and that is exactly what we are seeing.

"Yesterday, the National Cabinet agreed to a new series of guidelines and indeed enforceable orders for gatherings of less than 100."

All non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people have been banned, and where there are less than 100 people, each individual requires four square metres to themselves, essentially capping venue attendance based on its size.

Federation Square has seen a huge drop in foot traffic this week as the impact of social-distancing measures hits the city. ( ABC News: Ron Ekkel )

First case in Warrnambool

Meanwhile, health authorities revealed a COVID-19 case had been diagnosed in Warrnambool in the state's south-west, the first case in that region.

South West Healthcare chief executive officer Craig Fraser said a local man who attended the Warrnambool offsite Respiratory Assessment Clinic after returning from overseas and self-isolating had tested positive for coronavirus on Friday.

Authorities first revealed on Thursday that cases of the virus had been found in regional Victoria at Geelong, Ballarat and the Latrobe Valley.

The Collingwood Football Club also revealed one of its staff members who had recently been overseas had tested positive for COVID-19.

But the club said the person had been in self-isolation since returning home, so had not come into any contact with players or staff at the club.

Victoria Police conducting spot checks

Earlier Saturday, Victoria Police confirmed officers were conducting spot checks on people who had been directed to self-isolate at home due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Police said they were acting under the advice of the chief health officer.

"For operational reasons, we will not disclose how these checks are being undertaken or how many have been conducted so far," a police spokesperson said.

"At this stage, no one has been charged with refusing or failing to comply with direction."

Anyone who flouts the quarantine order can face fines of up to $20,000.

Schools to prepare for shutdown

During Saturday's press conference, Mr Andrews said that Victoria's schools were remaining open.

"It remains the advice of both the chief health officer and every other health officer across the country, and chief medical officer Brendan Murphy, that schools should remain open," he said.

"That is the health advice."

But the state's public school students would be asked to stay home for two days to allow teachers to prepare to run classes remotely in the event of schools being asked to shut down if the spread of the virus continues to escalate.

Schools were told that the last day of term one, next Friday, and the first day of term two, would be pupil-free.

In a notice to public schools released on Friday, Education Department deputy secretary David Howes said schools needed to "consolidate their preparations" for a total shut down.