At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 11.80 points or 0.18 percent at 6,663.70, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 11.40 points or 0.16 percent at 6,912.70.
A cluster in Sydney's north grew close to over 80 cases on Monday prompting the reintroduction of domestic border restrictions.
Travel related stocks felt the weight of investor concerns with national airline Qantas down close to 5 percent and online travel agency Webjet down over 4 percent.
Meanwhile, energy shares were also trending lower in early trade, however materials ticked up with iron ore giant Fortescue recording its highest share price ever.
In the financial space, the big banks sank with Commonwealth Bank down (0.48 percent), ANZ down (0.90 percent), National Australia Bank down (1.24 percent) and Westpac Bank down (1.11 percent).
Mining stocks were mixed with Rio Tinto down (0.53 percent), BHP up (0.14 percent), Fortescue Metals up (1.62 percent) and goldminer Newcrest down (1.71 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers dropped with Oil Search down (0.84 percent), Santos down (1.26 percent) and Woodside Petroleum down (2.07 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets lifted with Coles up (1.20 percent), and Woolworths up (0.63 percent).
Meanwhile, telecommunications giant Telstra sank (0.17 percent), the national carrier Qantas plummeted (4.47 percent) and biomedical firm CSL jumped (0.35 percent).
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