Rolling coverage: Positive case may have picked up virus at Boxing Day Test, Chadstone shopping centre
Fears are growing that a man may have contracted coronavirus at the MCG during the Boxing Day Test or at Chadstone shopping centre, prompting Myer to close its doors.
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The MCG and Chadstone shopping centre have been listed as a possible coronavirus acquisition site after a positive case attended day two of the Boxing Day Test and Boxing Day sales.
The man, aged in his 30s, sat in the Great Southern Stand zone 5 on level four between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on December 27.
There were about 8000 patrons seated in this section, all of whom will be contacted by DHHS and asked to get tested.
The man also attended Boxing Day sales at Chadstone shopping centre from 6am until 2pm.
Shops at Chadstone shopping centre have also been pinpointed as possible acquisition sites, including Culture Kings, Huffer, JD Sports, Jay Jays, H&M, Uniqlo, Myer, SuperDry, Footlocker and Dumplings Plus (lower ground food court).
It is not believed the man was infectious when he attended the cricket or the shopping centre, but authorities are concerned someone at those locations may have given him — and others — the virus.
Anyone who sat in zone 5 at the cricket on December 27 or attended the sales on December 26 is urged to get tested.
A walk-in testing clinic has been set up outside gate 1 of the MCG.
The man developed symptoms on December 30 before health authorities received news of his positive test on January 5.
Genomic testing is underway to determine if the case is linked to the Black Rock cluster, and if there is a link to the New South Wales outbreak.
Deputy chief health officer Allen Cheng said they were pursuing several avenues of investigation.
“Just to reinforce, this person was not infectious at the Boxing Day sales or the MCG,” he said.
“We are worried more about who might have given him the infection at that point of time.
“For people who were present at both (the cricket and Chadstone shopping centre) are being asked to test, they don’t need to quarantine for the full period.
“They just need to get tested and wait for the result, and if that’s negative, then they can continue on what they’re doing.”
Prof Cheng said the positive result was being treated as a mystery case — the first in Victoria for more than two months.
He said contact tracing teams were working to identify how the man acquired the virus and who he may have transmitted it to.
Prof Cheng said authorities were most concerned about the people the man may have been in contact with since Christmas Eve.
The man is believed to have stayed home and isolated from December 31 until his positive test result was received.
Anyone sitting in the relevant MCG bubble will be sent a text message this morning and asked to get tested.
An MCC spokesperson said the MCC had worked closely with Cricket Australia to develop a COVIDSafe event plan for the 2020 Boxing Day Test.
“The MCG’s COVIDSafe event plan outlined specific measures to reduce the potential risk of COVID-19 transmission, including the sectioning of the ground into five zones to limit patron movement and implementation of the Victorian Government QR system for contact tracing purposes,” she said.
“Extensive cleaning of the MCG took place after each day of the Boxing Day Test and, out of an abundance of caution, a deep clean of the identified area is now underway. During an event at the MCG, high levels of constant cleaning occurs and there are over 275 hand sanitising stations located throughout the venue.”
A spokesperson for Chadstone said the health, safety and wellbeing of customers, retailers, team members and broader community was a top priority.
“We’re working closely with each of the impacted retailers, following government advice and supporting our teams to ensure everyone who was on-site on Boxing Day is tested,” he said.
“ At Chadstone we have an increased cleaning roster in place, which included 140 cleaners on Boxing Day, with additional focus on specific areas including; balustrades, retailer door handles, vertical transport, toilets, sinks, change tables and parents’ rooms, customer entry and touch points, information screens, as well as communal furniture throughout the centre. This will continue for the foreseeable future.”
The new case is the only locally acquired case in Victoria on Wednesday.
A further two cases have also been confirmed in hotel quarantine.
More than 37,500 tests were received on Tuesday.
There are 41 active cases in Victoria.
PM CALLS EMERGENCY NATIONAL CABINET MEETING
An emergency national cabinet meeting has been called so leaders can discuss further measures to protect Australia against the mutated strain of COVID-19 ravaging the UK.
Scott Morrison announced the special meeting would be held on Friday following a week of medical expert panel meetings in which a proposal to strengthen international travel processes has been developed.
“The meeting is to consider a proposal that I requested through our Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, from our national expert medical panel, the AHPPC,” the Prime Minister said on Wednesday evening.
“The proposal is to further strengthen the COVID safety of end to end international travel processes, from arrival at Airport of embarkation in the exit country to final clearance from hotel quarantine in Australia.”
He said the AHPPC has been meeting every day and this week had largely been focusing on how to deal with the UK strain.
“The AHPPC has continued to meet every day during this most recent outbreak, and had an initial discussion of their proposal today,” Mr Morrison said.
“They will discuss the proposal further tomorrow before making a formal submission to national cabinet.”
The national vaccine strategy will also be discussed at the Friday meeting.
— Tamsin Buchan
MYER CLOSES CHADSTONE STORE
Myer’s Chadstone store has closed its doors early after discovering a person infected with Covid-19 had shopped there on Boxing Day.
The man, in his 30s, attended 10 stores including Myer at Chadstone shopping centre during the Boxing Day sales from 6am until 2pm.
A statement from Myer said it was taking a precautionary step to close the store early on Wednesday.
“Closing the store early today, in line with advice from the Department of Health and Human Services, shows that we will take every precaution necessary and be proactive to ensure we are doing all we can to protect the health and wellbeing of customers and team members alike,” the statement read.
“We will be undertaking a thorough clean of the store, which is in addition to our enhanced health and safety measures that are in place like sneeze guards, social distancing measures and hand sanitiser, to ensure the safest shopping environment so that our customers can have full confidence when visiting the store.”
All staff will get tested today and self-quarantine until their results are received.
IS THIS A NEW CLUSTER?
Prof Cheng said it was “most likely” this new cases was part of a new cluster.
“I think it’s most likely we have another cluster going on,” he said.
“It also is possibly linked to someone coming down from New South Wales.
“There are a couple of possibilities and I think we need to wait for the genomics as has been pointed out.”
NSW RECORDS FOUR NEW CASES
Four new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 have been diagnosed in NSW, including a teen who travelled to regional parts of the state and whose infection was revealed on Tuesday.
Additionally, a case was identified in an overseas traveller.
Of the four, two were related to the Berala cluster, and one was a household contact of a case in the Avalon cluster.
Fears grew for regional towns after it was revealed an 18-year-old man tested positive after visiting Nyngan, Orange and Broken Hill while potentially infectious.
He went to the BWS Berala on Christmas Eve and was told on Monday that he was a close contact. He was tested and returned a positive result.
MYKI CARDS USED TO TRACK VIRUS EXPOSURE
The acting premier urged Victorians to register their Myki cards so they could be alerted to any virus exposure on public transport.
“Another way to add to our contact tracing efforts and to give us another source of information is to be able to contact people who have a registered Myki card,” Jacinta Allan said.
“We have seen a small number of public transport services have been added to the list of exposure sites.
“So we’re encouraging Victorians who use public transport, who use a Myki card, to go and register that card.”
New South Wales health officials have similarly urged public transport users in NSW to register their Opal cards for use in contact tracing.
COVID VACCINE MAY COME AHEAD OF SCHEDULE
The first Australians to be vaccinated against COVID-19 may receive their first jabs earlier than the current March plan, according to federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.
“We’ve been able to bring our vaccination commencement schedule forward from the middle of the year to the second quarter, to late March and now to early March,” Mr Hunt said on Wednesday morning.
“And I’m not ruling out further steps.”
He confirmed the first round of injections would go to frontline workers including hotel quarantine staff, doctors, nursing home staff and aged care residents.
“That’s the first round and then we’ll work through it in terms of age and other priorities, which are currently being finalised by the medical expert panel,” Mr Hunt said.
“Progressively working down in age and where there are other vulnerabilities in terms of disability or certain Indigenous age groups and others, then they’ll all be identified.”
– Tamsin Rose
WRONG TURN LEAVES MELB FAMILY STRANDED
A Melbourne family was left stranded in NSW after mistakenly crossing the border for lunch.
The family of 13, who had travelled to Echuca during a day trip in three cars, were looking for a cafe when they unknowingly crossed a bridge into NSW last Saturday.
“We were looking for a place to have lunch and then we just Googled the place … and followed the GPS,” father-of-two Dharmesh Patel said.
“The police stopped us there; they said: ‘No, no, you can’t go back to Victoria.’
“By mistake we didn’t know that we are in NSW.”
Mr Patel, who was with his wife Purvi, daughter Swara, 16, son Manav, 12, and extended family, said there was “no warning” sign about the border closure when they drove across the Echuca-Moama bridge.
He pleaded with officers that they “did not realise we made a mistake” and were only visiting the area but “they didn’t want to listen”.
The whole family were taken in by the Riverpark Motel in Moama, with no spare clothes until they ordered more online.
The hotel’s manager Michael Aquino slashed the cost of their stay by up to $65 a night. “We do everything possible to make it more pleasant,” Mr Aquino said.
MAD DASH HOME FOR VICTORIANS IN QUEENSLAND
Victorians trying to get home from Queensland have been permitted just 24 hours to make the trip back, warned against unnecessary pit stops and asked to declare they haven’t spent a night in NSW.
One travel permit seen by the Herald Sun was issued for a 24-hour period for a 19-hour journey while Victorians have been asked to declare they haven’t spent the night in NSW on their trip back.
Testing Commander Jeroen Weinmar said those travelling through NSW to get back to Victoria should try get through “as cleanly as possible”.
Mr Weinmar said he had driven 764km from Cameron Corner in Queensland to Mildura before and did not think it was “an exceptionally impossible drive to do” in a day.
“You stop twice on the way, you stop for 15 minutes, you have a mask on and keep your social distance,” Mr Weinmar said. “We’re not going to encourage people to dwell overnight and to make the kind of journey you’d want to make.”
There is no cap on the number of stops, with travellers able to pull over for “toilet breaks, food and drinks or petrol”.
“I appreciate no one wants to drive in a straight shot across all of NSW … but people are going to have some inconvenience I suspect,” Mr Weinmar said.
Trent Ludlow was planning to travel the 20 hours from the Gold Coast to Victoria’s Bellarine Peninsula this week but cancelled the trip, not prepared to risk his family’s safety by trying to complete the trip in the 24 hours his permit allows.
The Department of Health and Human Services said those who wanted to stay overnight in NSW should apply for an exemption.
“How is it safe? They’re bullying people into a dangerous position,” Mr Ludlow said.
The RACV urged motorists making the long journey to “allow rest stops every two hours, avoid fatigue and share the driving where possible”.
“While we recognise importance of minimising the time spent driving through NSW, we need to make sure people can do so without compromising their safety on the road,” RACV senior manager Peter Kartsidimas said.
The Transport Accident Commission advised motorists not to drive for more than two hours without a break or for more than 10 hours a day and advised motorists to pull over and rest if they felt drowsy.
“Getting to your destination safely is the number one priority,” the TAC said.
Opposition road safety spokesman Brad Battin said regular stops were essential.
“For many years, as a community we have focused on stopping every two hours to ensure you are not tired. This is not an arbitrary number — it is proven to save lives,” he said.
“We support mask wearing when stopped, recording when and where rest stops are taken, and a test for COVID on return, but we can’t support putting families returning from holiday at risk because the Andrews Labor government failed to plan a safe and timely border closure.”
Authorities are “working through” 2800 border exemption applications from stranded Victorians desperate to return home.
Victorians in hotel quarantine who arrived from NSW were advised on Monday night they could apply to finish isolation at home. More than 15,000 motorists have been refused entry to Victoria from NSW since December 20.
FLIGHT CANCELLED AFTER CREW MEMBER’S POSITIVE TEST
A flight from Melbourne Airport was cancelled on Monday night after a crew member who was preparing to depart tested positive for coronavirus.
The Qatar Airways flight bound for Doha was scheduled to leave Melbourne with around 50 passengers at 10.30pm but instead took off with just crew after one employee tested positive for the virus.
A spokeswoman for COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria confirmed that the infected crew member has been taken to a health hotel after the positive result.
“The positive test result was received while the crew member, who had been in mandatory quarantine, was at Melbourne Airport preparing to depart Australia,” the spokeswoman said.
“The rest of the flight crew had all tested negative and later boarded a flight without passengers to their home port.”
Originally published as Rolling coverage: Positive case may have picked up virus at Boxing Day Test, Chadstone shopping centre
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