The text messages told some close contacts in isolation at the weekend they were  “no longer in quarantine” several days before their actual quarantine end date.

One Melbourne woman who was self-isolating after her partner tested positive to COVID-19  claimed she received the confusing text message on Sunday, 20 minutes after receiving an email reminding her about the strict quarantine rules.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) claimed the bungle was as an “inadvertent data entry error”.

“The department is issuing multiple automated messages at different times of the day to thousands of people who may be at different stages of their isolation periods,” a statement from DHHS read.

“We apologise for any confusion. Anyone who is concerned about receiving messages which appear inconsistent should call the coronavirus helpline on 1800 675 398.”

Premier Daniel Andrews in a press conference today said he was not aware of the error where Victorians were mistakenly told they could leave quarantine early.

“Of course, we apologise for any inconvenience, but dealing with that many people in such a fast moving and dynamic environment I’m sure that Victorians can appreciate that sometimes someone will attach the wrong message to a text message.

“It’s part of the massive logistical effort.”

Education Minister James Merlino told 3AW today the errant texts were the result of “human error”.

“To put it in context, there’s something like 7000 messages sent a day to support people who are in lockdown,” he said.

“If anyone’s concerned call the coronavirus hotline.”