Casey Hospital workers tests positive; 26 new cases as Prahran Market listed to exposure list
A Casey Hospital employee has tested positive for Covid-19, after working one shift while infectious. It comes as eligibility for the Pfizer jab was expanded.
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Twenty-six new infections of locally acquired coronavirus were detected in Victoria in the past 24 hours.
All 26 cases are linked to the current outbreaks, and only two of those cases were out in the community while infectious.
The daily case number spike comes on a day when more than 43,600 people turned out for a test.
It brings the total number of active cases linked to Victoria’s current outbreak to 133.
Two new cases of the virus were also detected in hotel quarantine and more than 19,000 primary close contacts are in isolation.
Two new cases have emerged in Mildura, taking the region’s tally to four.
The first case was a Mildura man who attended the MCG and returned a positive test at the weekend.
A member of the man’s household was confirmed as the second case.
Details on the third and fourth cases have not been revealed, while Bendigo has also recorded a positive case — its first in 295 days.
Meanwhile, NSW has recorded its biggest case spike since the outbreak began, with 124 new cases, with 48 of those in the community during their infectious period.
Health Minister Martin Foley said the rates of positive cases being isolated during their infectious period had hit 92 per cent.
“Three days ago, some 6 per cent of the daily cases were isolating for the entirety of their infectious period. Yesterday, that was 73 per cent and today, that was 92 per cent ... giving contact tracers the time, resources and the opportunity they need to get ahead of this virus,” he said.
Prof Cowie said that was a “fundamental element” of Victoria’s road out of lockdown.
“We’ve moved from a position where the minority of people, of cases notified in a given day, were in isolation for the full period of their infectiousness to now being greater than 90 per cent,” he said.
“That is a fundamental element that reassures me that we’re going in the right direction. I guess the other point that the commander reflected on earlier was that we also don’t have any mystery cases in this outbreak.
“We know where people have acquired their infection and that means we’re able to then connect the dots, establish a ring around those individuals and so on. That’s incredibly reassuring also.”
Mr Foley said one of the two cases that was not in full isolation during the infectious period has been linked to just one exposure site — a single transaction at a petrol station in regional Victoria, while they were travelling back to Melbourne.
Acting chief health officer Ben Cowie praised the woman for doing all the right things after being notified.
“We have seen today that when a case was notified, they immediately travelled back home from regional Victoria into isolation, as required,” he said.
“And they only made that one stop for petrol, had limited contact with staff, and even
disinfected the credit card that they were using before handing it over.
“These are the types of Covid-safe behaviours that limit the spread of the virus and keep all of us safe, our families and friends and the entire community.”
The woman, linked to the Trinity Grammar outbreak, travelled back to Melbourne from East Gippsland after she was notified that she was a close contact.
Mr Weimar said she had done a “fantastic job”.
“People do have to make tough choices, driving back from East Gippsland into the city is a challenging drive. You need to get fuel. I commend that person ... she has done a fantastic job,” he said.
Prof Cowie said testing on day 13 of the isolation period was important to combat the fast-spreading Delta variant.
“This virus moves fast ... we see that a greater proportion of people are becoming infectious very soon in relative terms after being infected themselves, but that doesn’t mean we don’t still have a significant range in incubation period for people to potentially test positive up to 14 days after their exposure,” he said.
“We’re coming up to day 13 now, someone exposed 11, 12 days ago can potentially flag positive now.
“That’s why we have the exit test. Not every time does it mean when you see a case on a given day that that was someone infected two, three or five days ago — some might have been infected 12, 13 days ago.
MELBOURNE HOSPITAL WORKER TESTS POSITIVE
A Casey Hospital employee has tested positive for Covid-19, Monash Health has confirmed.
The employee – who tested positive on Tuesday July 20 following a community exposure – worked one shift during their infectious period.
In a statement to the Herald Sun, Monash Health said they did not believe the employee – who does not work in a patient-facing role – had any interaction with patients.
As a precaution, 41 employees have been furloughed as they await test results.
The employee wore appropriate PPE during their shift and took a test as soon as they became symptomatic.
Monash Health South East Public Health Unit Director Professor Rhonda Stuart said the hospital was focused on providing support to employees who have been impacted by the positive test.
“We appreciate that being identified as a close contact and self-isolating for 14 days can be a challenging and anxious time,” Prof Stuart said.
“We want to ensure that all employees at Casey Hospital, irrespective of whether they are close contacts, are kept informed throughout the outbreak.
“This includes communication about possible exposure areas and reassurance of the steps being taken to manage and contain any areas of risk, while undertaking contact tracing.”
BREAKDOWN OF LATEST CASES
Trinity Grammar — 7 cases (two staff, one student, four household contacts)
Ms Frankie — 6 cases (one staff, four patrons, one household contact)
Phillip Island cluster — 2 cases
St Patrick’s Murrumbeena — 5 cases (four students, one household contact)
MCG — 1 case (household contact)
Mildura — 2 cases (linked to index case)
City of Hume cluster — 2 cases (household contacts)
AAMI Park — 1 case (initially a Tier 2 contact who became Tier 1 after reclassification)
Covid commander Jeroen Weimar said the AAMI Park case was “interesting”.
“It was originally someone who sat on the same side of the ground that we had known about, but well outside of the Tier 1 area,” he said.
“They were a Tier 2 contact initially, and got tested in that capacity. There was evidence of some mingling outside of the ground — this case was incorporated, went back into later, got tested and was positive.
“They had one day out in the community which was the Prahran Market exposure.”
In total, there are 31 active cases linked to Ms Frankie restaurant, 20 linked to Trinity Grammar, 14 at the MCG and six at AAMI Park.
Sixteen of Victoria’s positive cases have been partially vaccinated, with five fully vaccinated.
Mr Weimar said there had been no new cases at the Ariele Apartments complex in Maribyrnong or at Bacchus Marsh Grammar in the past seven days.
PFIZER ELIGIBILITY EXPANDED
Victoria has expanded its Pfizer eligibility at health department jab hubs, with all healthcare workers, hotel quarantine, international border workers and residential aged and disability care workers and residents are now eligible for Pfizer, regardless of age.
The immediate household contacts aged over 16 of hotel quarantine and border workers will also now be eligible.
Ten thousand Pfizer appointments have been prioritised for those groups next week, with Prof Cowie saying there was still “plenty of capacity” for AstraZeneca.
When asked about Prime Minister Scott Morrison calling for changes to the under-60 AstraZeneca advice, Mr Foley said it was an “unnecessary shot at professionals doing their job”.
“The Australian technical advisory group on immunisation is an advisory group, as is implicit in its name — and they are the most pre-eminent physicians and experts in their field and they respond to the inquiries and the issues that governments put to them,” he said.
“I have got nothing but praise and support for what ATAGI have been doing throughout this whole pandemic and I just thought it was an unnecessary shot at professionals doing their job.”
PRAHRAN MARKET LISTED AS HOT SPOT
A new Covid scare has emerged at Prahran Market after an infected shopper visited seven traders there on Saturday.
Mr Weimar said Prahran Market was “the highest risk exposure site”.
In a statement published on its website, the market said a positive shopper visited between 9.40am and 11.15am on Saturday, July 17.
The customer visited seven traders spread over a “broad geographic” area, resulting in the entire market being classified as a Tier 1 exposure site.
The shops visited include Pete n Rosie’s Deli, Q le Baker, Prahran Seafoods, John Cester’s Poultry and Game, Gary’s Quality Meats, Reliable Fruit and Veg and Market Lane Coffee.
Everyone who was at Prahran Market during the exposure window must get tested and isolate for 14 days, including workers and shoppers.
Mr Weimar said the case who visited the market did not break any isolation orders during their visit, and immediately isolated after they were redefined as a Tier 1 close contact.
There are 900 primary close contacts linked to the Prahran Market exposure site.
“The safety of our customers and traders is our prime concern and Prahran Market is working closely with the Department of Health and relevant local authorities to ensure we are continuing to comply with the latest regulations, guidance and advice,” a statement read.
“These are unprecedented times for all of us and so, when we open again, we look forward to welcoming you back to Prahran Market. Until then, we will continue to keep you updated.”
NSW REMOVALISTS TO FACE ‘FULL FORCE OF THE LAW’
Mr Foley said he was “looking forward” to the three rogue removalists being hit with consequences for bringing the deadly Delta variant of coronavirus into Victoria.
“I’m looking forward to the full force of the law applying to those people who’ve breached permit arrangements and started this current outbreak from NSW,” he said.
But he confirmed the City of Hume family member who breached their isolation by visiting Coles in Craigieburn wouldn’t be fined, despite spreading the virus on to a number of other households.
CALL FOR TOWER APOLOGY
The City of Melbourne has demanded that the state government apologise over its handling of the move to lock down nine public housing towers during a Covid outbreak in 2020.
A council report said lack of consultation with community leaders and poor planning had led to residents feeling distressed and distrustful of government.
Last July, the towers in North Melbourne and Flemington were suddenly locked down for up to two weeks in a bid to contain the virus spreading.
A scathing Victorian Ombudsman’s report said the decision had not been based on direct health advice and an apology was warranted for breaching residents’ human rights.
In a report before a city council meeting on Tuesday, council’s director of street support and compliance Dean Robertson said that the roles of health department, police and emergency services agencies had not been clearly specified.
“Lack of inclusion of (Muslim community services) in plans and implementation resulted in culturally inappropriate food being provided and a breakdown in any prior relationship government and community had had,” he said.
“While all but one tower in the City of Melbourne moved to Stage 3 restrictions within a week, the public housing estate tenants remained quite distressed and distrustful of government.”
Greens councillor Rohan Leppert told the meeting that people, many from war-torn countries, had armed police at their doors and no information why the lockdown was happening.
“They were denied fresh air, the right food and medication for days, this was an extraordinary and unique circumstance, and that apology has to come,” he said.
Councillors voted unanimously for the government to implement all the Ombudman’s recommendations, including the apology.
The council report said that distrust of government had been improved through big efforts by the state via various programs introduced since the incident.
“These programs demonstrate an openness of the Victorian government and its partnering agencies, including City of Melbourne, to learn from errors made at the time and feedback from the community,” it said.
“(Council) officers also worked closely with neighbouring councils to share what had been learned and prepare operational contingencies should a future outbreak in a high-density setting occur.”
VIDEO REVEALS REMOVALISTS’ COVID DELIVERY
The moment unmasked New South Wales removalists delivered Covid’s deadly Delta strain to Victoria, plunging 6.7 million people into lockdown, has emerged.
Damning footage reveals the trio of removalists brazenly breaching conditions of their special worker permits as they loaded furniture on trucks outside Maribyrnong’s Ariele Apartments on July 8.
The men failed to wear masks or socially distance as they came into close contact with residents of the now-locked down complex.
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