Rolling coverage: 15 cases, one death; Kilmore cafe worker tests positive
Customers who visited a cafe in regional Victoria have been urged to get tested for coronavirus, even if they haven’t displayed any symptoms — a move that’s goes against the state’s typical testing strategy. It comes as Victoria recorded 15 new coronavirus cases overnight, along with one death.
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Coronavirus cases in Victoria have spiked slightly, with 15 new cases and one death overnight.
The city’s rolling 14-day average is hovering at 10.6, with no change to the number of mystery cases over the past fortnight, which stands at 13.
Regional Victoria’s average also remains unchanged at 0.3, but there are currently three active cases outside of Melbourne — an increase of one.
The state has reached a milestone, with no Victorians on a ventilator in hospital.
Currently, 21 people are being treated in hospital for COVID-19, with one receiving intensive care.
Active cases have dipped slightly to 216, with eight of Tuesday’s cases linked to outbreaks.
There are also 27 healthcare workers among the active cases, along with 66 active cases in aged-care and one in disability care.
Authorities have processed 9286 tests in the past 24 hours.
But the Chadstone cluster has grown to 28 cases, including eight workers, 11 family and household members and four customers.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the second wave presented new challenges in contact tracing.
“The challenge in this wave in Victoria is profoundly different to the first wave. It’s profoundly different to what any other jurisdiction in Australia has followed up,” he said.
“I don’t think anyone really understands what a gargantuan task the contact tracing has been through this wave.
“The average family size in Australia is about 2.5 people. We’ve made estimates that the average family size for the 20,000 cases in this second wave has been between six to 10 people.
“And so, when there’s a case here, you’re not looking at one or two other contacts, you’re looking at five or six or seven or eight or nine routinely for every household, and looking at other workplaces where those close contacts could be.
“You’re looking at three or four. And again, with each of those individuals who are in workplaces, they will have their own households and they will have five or six or seven or eight close contacts.
“So it is not twice as hard as the first wave, it is 10 times as hard as the first wave in terms of the challenges of following up these cases.”
And despite the second wave, Prof Sutton said Victoria was leading the way as coronavirus infections spike overseas.
“We came into a second wave earlier than most of Europe. So we’ve had to face the reality of this second wave earlier … Europe is all connected. You know, free movement of people,” he said.
“They had no opportunity to get to zero cases and hold it there. So it becomes a challenge in any country that’s not an island state or that can’t isolate itself from international travellers. So Australia is in that lucky position.
“That’s where we’ve gotten to and we shouldn’t forget that we snuffed out the first wave in exactly that way. We got to a point where none of that original virus is in Victoria any more.”
Premier Daniel Andrews highlighted how quickly the virus spread and reinforced the importance of restrictions.
“One only has to spend a moment to imagine: If Chadstone was open at the moment, just how many more cases we might well be dealing with here,” he said.
“If there were not restrictions in terms of movement into regional Victoria as there are, then who knows?
“If there were not rules that apply to what happens in those regional Victorian communities for locals or for those who are permitted, well, I don’t think that we would be talking about 28 or 30 cases, we would be talking about many, many more.
“The fact that you can go from Frankston to Benalla all the way up in the northeast, that just speaks as to how wildly infectious this virus is.”
As the countdown to October 19 continues, Prof Sutton said Melburnians “have to be prepared for whatever may come”.
“We all want to get to a point where we’re satisfied that we know we’ll go to the next step, but absolutely no-one wants us to fail in this space … so we just have to bear that in mind, and we have to take that next step at an appropriate time when it is safe and when it’s steady.”
He said the sporadic nature of infections made it a challenge to predict upcoming infection numbers.
“I never know what tomorrow will bring. We can get to a point where there are significant numbers of cases every day, and it drops off dramatically because they’re all being chased up,” Prof Sutton said.
“Those other close contacts have been contained and then you suddenly see a decrease in numbers. So you know, I really can’t say.”
KILMORE CAFE’S ‘DREADED’ NEWS
Customers who visited a cafe in regional Victoria have been urged to get tested for coronavirus, even if they haven’t displayed any symptoms.
The warning came from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services who recommended anyone who visited Oddfellows Cafe in Kilmore between Wednesday 30 September and Saturday 3 October get tested as soon as possible.
It follows the business’ owner revealing her heartbreak after being contacted by health authorities on Monday and told a positive case from Melbourne had dined there.
Hours later, she revealed one of her staff members had tested positive for coronavirus after coming into contact with the infected diner.
“I am devasted (sic) to announce that late this afternoon we had the dreaded call from DHHS to say that one of our staff members who was in contact with the customer on Wednesday has tested positive to COVID-19,” owner Kim Short wrote.
“The cafe will remain closed until Monday the 19th of October or until further notice. All our staff are quarantined and following the DHHS rules.”
On Sunday, Ms Short said she had “worked so hard” to keep their business open.
“To say I’m upset this has happened when it shouldn’t of (sic) is an understatement,” she wrote.
The Melburnian was allowed to leave the CBD to provide care to someone in Kilmore, but decided to dine at the cafe while transiting through.
They tested positive over the weekend after unknowingly coming into contact with a worker in the Chadstone cluster.
Prof Sutton on Monday told reporters the Melburnian was only permitted to buy take away from the cafe.
According to heath guidelines, restrictions apply to Melburnians even if they are outside metropolitan Melbourne.
The person also triggered a virus alert at White Line Tyres in Benalla on September 30, the same day they dined at Oddfellows.
A pop-up drive-through clinic in the regional town is testing locals, but has already been booked out for the day.
Prof Sutton praised the cafe for its efforts but said contact tracing was still a challenge.
“The Kilmore case is an illustration of a cafe that did all of the right things,” he said.
“Has a fantastic register of names, all of those close contacts are being contacted. But there are 150 of them.”
A lockdown in Kilmore has not been planned but was not ruled out entirely by Mr Andrews.
“That’s not on the cards … Things could change. I’m not saying absolutely no,” the Premier said.
LEARNER DRIVER TEST MOVES ONLINE
Drivers’ licence test will return when Melbourne enters step three of its recovery process, with more VicRoads exams to move online.
The Andrews Government has announced a $26.8 million package to boost the current testing system to tackle a backlog of thousands of applications
The funding will triple the capacity of the Department of Transport’s registration and licensing division and allow computer-based tests to be completed online rather than in an office.
The government will also open up six new temporary testing sites in the new year, on top of the six opened after the first wave, to further tackle the backlog of people waiting to get their licence.
Anyone with a postponed test will be contacted by the department to schedule an appointment as a priority.
It’s expected the changes will allow for 11,000 licence tests 16,500 computer tests per week.
BIG CHANGES TO HOW SCHOOLS RUN
Temperature checks will be scrapped and libraries back in action as year 7 metro students join primary and VCE pupils back at school on Monday.
An end to remote learning has officially been set — all Victorian pupils will be back in the classroom by October 26.
The announcement marked the conclusion to a maximum 21 weeks of missed face-to-face time for Victorian students this year — including 8 weeks in term 2, 10 weeks in term 3 with an extended week of holidays, and three weeks in term 4.
Year 7 student Jacob Koot had an extra special 13th birthday when he learned the news he’d be going back to school.
“It’s going to be good to see my friends again — it’s been a big cut-off,” he said.
He said he’d been surprised by how much he missed going to school, while older sister Lilly will have to wait a few more weeks.
“I’m going to appreciate it now a lot more,” Jacob said.
Education Minister James Merlino labelled the confirmed dates for school returns as “the light at the end of the tunnel”.
Schools will take different approaches to COVID-safety in term 4 than they did with the return of students in term 2.
Mandatory temperature checks will no longer be required, school libraries will be back up and running, including for loaning out books, playgrounds will be safe with daily cleaning and outdoor pools will be in use.
Assemblies, ceremonies, formals and school tours are still off limits for all students across the state, and face masks for high school pupils will continue to be required.
But regional pupils will be able to take part in camps, overnight stays, excursions and kinder transition programs, where metro pupils will not.
On the logistics of getting back into classrooms, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said public transport was OK but “it’s for judgments to be made by individual families”.
“If you’re packed like sardines, you might want to look at other options,” he said.
Mr Merlino called on parents to ensure physical distancing at the school gate.
“There will be a very strong message to parents — this is pick-up and drop-off,” he said.
“It’s not dropping off the kids and having a chat at the school gate, as much as you would like to, it’s pick up and drop off.”
Mr Merlino said the two weeks between when the majority of pupils return and when more than 160,000 students in years 8 to 10 go back on October 26 would give “time to monitor the impact”.
Opposition leader Michael O’Brien slammed the delay in getting year 8 to 10 kids back into the classroom.
“A lot of Victorian parents and students will be deeply disappointed by this announcement,” he said.
“Every single day our kids are out of the classroom is a day they are at risk of falling behind.”
Students’ academic progress through remote learning may be tested, with teachers getting access to new reading and numeracy assessments through the NSW government, alongside an already existing online library of tests.
Term 4 began this week but metro campuses and regional high schools will remain closed to avoid a compromise of Wednesday’s General Achievement Test, which VCE students will sit in person.
SUICIDE RATES HAVE NOT INCREASED
Victoria’s suicide rate has not grown during the coronavirus pandemic, figures provided by the Coroners Court of Victoria show.
Data released on Monday shows there have been 530 suicides in the state this year, compared with 534 at the same time last year.
Despite concerns over the extended lockdown, the Coroners Court report found the rate of suicide was “relatively steady”.
Three quarters of suicides were men, which was consistent with previous years.
The report notes 70 men aged 65 and over have taken their own lives this year, “slightly elevated compared to what would be expected based on previous years”.
In Victoria, all deaths from suspected non-natural causes including suspected suicides are required to be reported to the Coroners Court.
State Coroner John Cain said in August: “While it is encouraging to see there has not been an increase in suicides to date, our focus is to prevent all suicide deaths and see the figures go down.”
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