“There's a sense of anxiety and a real concern about the rules changing further in regional Victoria, but I don't think we're quite at that point yet,” Mr Andrews said.
“But I certainly can't rule out the need to change rules in the future.
“We're some way off and we might never get to the point of having to impose those rules.
“But I can make it clear to everybody across those three cities and across all of regional Victoria we're doing everything we possibly can to avoid having to put any additional rules in place.”
These measures include COVID-19 testing blitzes in "concerning" regional centres, including Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat.
He said if there was to be a stage four, its enforcement would be driven by "data, common sense and an absolute determination to keep regional Victorians safe".
Mr Andrews also said further enforcement on movement to and from regional areas was on the cards, if current messaging around limiting travel proved ineffective.
“I have seen some reports that people are a bit concerned about how hard that border is,” Mr Andrews.
“As I understood it from the data, that message (to limit travel) does seem to be getting through but obviously, we have to do more.
“I certainly wouldn't rule out further steps about trying to curtail movement because logic tells you that if people are making trips that are not absolutely necessary, then there is a risk that they can be bringing the virus with them and and not even know it.
“Whether it be student placements... or many other examples, there are some things we can do that are not much about messaging and more about making different choices and putting different arrangements in place for some of those previously unavoidable movements.”
He suggested one measure may involve making people who travel into regional Victoria for work to remain in a stage three area.
But Mr Andrews said the COVID-19 cases appearing now were transmitted before the state went into further lockdown, and therefore the effect of the restrictions had not been fully realised.
“One of the most wicked elements of this virus is that you've got a 10 day to two week lag,” Mr Andrews said.
“So right now in Melbourne, we are effectively seeing the impacts of the very last moments of stage three.”
He said he was aware of the situation in Shepparton through State Member for Shepparton Suzanna Sheed, who was contact with his office often.
Ms Sheed said a stage four lockdown in Shepparton would have to be different, and said Mr Andrews was aware of the importance of food and transport industries for the region.
“(Stage four) would be impossible to do in the same way as Melbourne - it would need to be different,” she said.
“We are really critical in providing Melbourne and many other places with a whole range of dairy, fruit, vegetables, other products.
“That being well understood, we do in some ways stand out as needing to be given a particular sort of consideration.”
But she said if the community did the right thing by stage three restrictions, and got tested for COVID-19 if they showed any symptoms, hopefully stage four could be avoided.
“We just need people to do the right thing,” Ms Sheed said.
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