Concerns protests outside CFMEU were superspreader event

Cases in regional Victoria linked to riots outside the CFMEU head office have sparked fears the protests were a superspreader event.

Fears are mounting that riots which started outside the CFMEU head office have turned into a superspreader event, with cases now being found in attendees who live outside Melbourne.

The Herald Sun can reveal coronavirus spread during the riots appears to be worse than first feared.

Young men who were at the rally on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are now being picked up in rapid tests as they are taken to hospital.

It comes after union boss John Setka and his colleagues were forced into 14 days of isolation after the CFMEU office was declared a Tier 1 site.

The outside of the building, where the protests began, was declared Tier 2.

Public health officials are still piecing together how many cases are linked to the event, with the true impact of the protests unlikely to be known given the crowd’s resistance to Covid restrictions.

Victorian State Secretary John Setka attempts to talk to the angry crowd outside the CFMEU office. Picture: David Crosling

There were no QR codes or other contact tracing practices in places other than inside the CFMEU building where contact tracing and management has already occurred.

Some of those who attended the protests are now believed to have become seriously ill and health outcomes for Covid are worse if sick people are not treated early on.

There are also fears protesters have passed on to family members and other close contacts.

It comes as dozen of students will not sit their General Assessment Test (GAT) on Tuesday after they were found to be Covid-19 positive during a targeted testing blitz.

Health officials identified at least 33 positive cases among 8000 VCE students from Covid hotspot areas during a push to test students prior to the major test.

Education Minister James Merlino credited the testing operation for finding cases that would have otherwise gone unnoticed and may have potentially sparked fresh outbreaks among students.

“We may not have found these cases otherwise, so that goes a long way to help us hold the GAT as safely as possible,” he said.

People gather outside a damaged CFMEU head office. Picture: Rob Leeson

Crowds outside the CFMEU building, where flares were lit and objects thrown. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Victoria reported 1337 new cases and four more deaths on Monday, with chief health officer Brett Sutton revealing a plateau in case numbers was “potentially already happening”.

Professor Sutton said the high number of mystery cases was a feature of the fact there had been widespread community transmission.

“That’s not an issue with contact tracing, that is just a phenomenon that happens when you’ve got thousands of cases per day,” he said.

Meanwhile, 45 per cent of Monday’s caseload were people aged between 10 and 29 years old.

Covid positive students who are unable to sit the GAT are set to receive a derived examination score.

“This is well-trodden. Schools are perfectly aware of this. It provides a fair score for students, but for those 33, they won‘t sit the GAT, and they may or may not sit the exams. It depends on when the exams start for those students,” Mr Merlino said.

Opposition education spokesman David Hodgett called for the immediate provision of an online exam option for positive students.

“Students need certainty for their exams. Covid is not ending, so the government must provide a plan for those students who cannot sit their exams in the usual way,” Mr Hodgett said.

About 40 per cent of cases on Monday were detected in the northern suburbs, but Professor Sutton said vaccination rates had resulted in cases beginning to stabilise in hotspots such as Hume.

He warned the southeastern suburbs had been identified as an area of concern with growing case numbers.

Almost 300 new cases were detected in the southeast in the past 24 hours, primarily in Casey, Greater Dandenong, Cardinia, Monash and Port Phillip.