Zero new local cases as Melbourne’s fourth lockdown eases
Authorities have warned Victorians to be vigilant as lockdown restrictions loosen, saying more cases could be expected in the coming week.
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Melbourne has recorded no new local Covid cases overnight and just one new case in hotel quarantine.
Acting Premier James Merlino said: “It is good news and news I know everyone in Victoria wanted to hear”.
But he warned that while it was a “terrific outcome” it was “nowhere near over”.
“Victorians have done an awesome effort in getting tested, getting vaccinated, following the rules.
“We are not out of the woods, yet today having zero cases is a great reflection of the work of all Victorians”
There is a total of 75 active cases in the community and 17,604 tests were processed on Thursday.
Mr Merlino urged those in Craigieburn to get tested, as he said testing numbers were lower than expected.
“In some areas we would like to see an uplift because of community transmission.
“It was lower than we would have liked in some parts of Melbourne.
“I am asking Victorians that if you live in the Craigieburn area and did not get tested yesterday, please go out and get tested today,” he said.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton also urged Victorians to keep testing efforts up.
“The week ahead probably won’t be all zero cases. We have thousands of primary close contacts, some of which will become positive.
“It is not a concern as they all quarantined for the entire period. It has only been 48 hours since we had cases of uncertain acquisition”.
The genomic sequence from the four mystery cases in the same Reservoir household has indicated they’re carrying the Kappa strain of virus.
Prof Sutton said that finding was “consistent” with the existing City of Whittlesea outbreak.
The DHHS is still searching for the source of exposure for the two Queensland cases in Melbourne.
“They have gone through a long interview process with us,” Prof Sutton said.
“We thank them for that. It is a tiring process, lots of detail around where they have been.
“We have been looking quite a bit earlier than June for that acquisition, where they may have picked it up, whether or not they were infectious through that,” he said.
Mr Merlino said a number of exposure sites would come up as a result of the couple who had travelled to Queensland but could not say if the pair would be fined.
ELECTIVE SURGERY TO RESUME
From Tuesday, June 15, Melbourne hospitals will be able to resume elective surgeries, Mr Merlino confirmed.
But Mr Merlino warned of backlogs and delays, stating it was “not as simple as flicking a switch”.
RESTRICTIONS TO STAY IN PLACE
Prof Sutton said the state would not ease restrictions sooner than planned, given the Kappa variant link with the Reservoir household.
He said he “wasn’t suprised” by Friday’s zero cases.
“Obviously primary close contacts isolating at home has helped to control this,” he said.
“Although tracing work has helped to control this and all the great testing that has been done has allowed us to find cases and then control them.”
“So we are going to get days of zero, I expect they will be more, and I also expect there will be days (when) we have new cases each day. It isn’t over yet. We are on the right track.”
As the city’s restrictions eased on Monday, Prof Sutton said he had never backed lockdowns as the first measure to tackle an outbreak.
“They will never be the first measure. They will be a measure that we implement when we have to do, and only when we have to do.”
“There are so many sad stories and struggles that people are reporting on. My heart goes out to them. I cannot fathom what it has meant across Victoria throughout lockdown, and through all of the circuit breakers and lockdowns across Australia.”
“We are doing this with the minimum restrictions that keep us safe. The alternative, with this running away, is too awful to imagine in some respects.”
However, he said mystery cases would trigger tighter restrictions but couldn’t say whether the emergence of more mystery cases would lead to another lockdown.
“Of course mystery cases, where there are concerns about high risk settings, would be of concern.”
“There will be mystery cases where people have had very little interaction or there is a significant suggestion where they may have picked it up, geographically or otherwise. There is no-one size fits all. Each on its own merits.”
COVID JAB A PATH OUT OF LOCKDOWNS
More than 17,000 Victorians were vaccinated on Thursday.
Mr Merlino said the Commonwealth had assured it had enough Pfizer vaccination in stock for a second dose.
He said vaccination was a pathway out of future blanket lockdowns.
“The sooner we get our community vaccinated at a much higher proportion, the more comfort is provided to public health in terms of our response to any particular outbreak.”
QLD AUTHORITIES PUT VICTORIANS ON NOTICE
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said she had been informed that there were other Victorians who managed to come into Queensland without the correct exemptions.
“I’ve been advised this morning by the Deputy Police Commissioner that there are other people coming across our border from Victoria who are driving up through New South Wales, crossing our border from Victoria who do not have the exemptions or travel declarations to do so,” Ms D’Ath said.
“We will be making sure that you are found.
“This is an offence. You cannot come into this state if you are from a hotspot and put our state at risk — And we will make sure that you will face the consequences if you do that.”
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski confirmed five other people have been identified as failing to comply with directions coming into Queensland, two in the Darling Downs, one in Dalby and two in the Wide Bay district.
All five people who entered Queensland without border passes were sent to hotel quarantine and returned negative test results.
MORE SUBURBS ON ALERT
Victorian health authorities uncovered more concerning sewage detections of Covid-19 as Melbourne emerged from tough lockdown restrictions.
Covid was detected in wastewater in Bendigo, Glenroy, Pascoe Vale, and across Whitehorse, Manningham and Monash council areas.
The health department said there had also been positive detections of coronavirus viral fragments in wastewater samples taken in the Scoresby and Vermont areas in a statement late on Thursday.
“These new detections are of interest as there are currently no confirmed Covid-19 cases in those areas,” the health department said.
See the full list of suburbs here
Meanwhile, a leading epidemiologist labelled the state government’s move to keep masks mandatory outdoors a “burden” on Melburnians with very little health evidence.
Melbourne’s lockdown will be lifted as planned on Friday, but health experts have reneged on their proposal to scrap outdoor mask wearing, despite admitting coronavirus had not been transmitted outside in any recent outbreak.
It comes as authorities scramble to work out how a family of four mysteriously caught the virus.
A woman in her 70s and three men, in their 80s, 50s and 20s, from the same Reservoir home, tested positive on Wednesday. None have visited an exposure site or been identified as a close contact of a positive case, and their strain is unknown.
One of the family members is a recipient of a disability pension, while another provides care in an informal setting.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said: “These new cases are really the strongest reminder that we are no means out of the woods yet.”
But health officials deemed the “cautious” easing of Melbourne’s restrictions — allowing schools to reopen, restaurants to have 100 patrons, only 50 indoors and travel up to 25km — could go ahead.
“We are moving ahead but we are on high alert,” Acting Premier James Merlino said.
Questions have been raised as to the effectiveness of wearing masks outdoors, after both Professor Cheng and COVID-19 commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed no cases in the current cluster or recent outbreaks had been acquired while outside.
“We have no evidence that we’ve seen yet in this particular outbreak, or the most recent ones we’ve dealt with, of outdoor transmission,” Mr Weimar admitted on Thursday.
Professor Cheng said there was “pretty good evidence” around masks reducing transmission, and that cases where the virus was passed outdoors in the second wave might have gone unnoticed.
When asked about reports that transmission was 20 times less likely to happen outdoors, Prof Cheng said: “That doesn’t mean zero. There is still a risk.”
Infectious diseases expert Prof Peter Collignon said little to no transmission occurred outdoors, unless in crowded situations where people gathered for prolonged periods.
“Unless you’ve got uncontrollable spread like in the UK or Europe, I can’t really see it’ll provide much benefit to wear masks outdoors,” Prof Collignon said. “There can’t be much community transmission in Melbourne right now, if any.”
Mr Merlino said the continued wearing of masks was a “small price to pay”.
“We don’t have the luxury of picking and choosing public health advice that we like or don’t like,” he said.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton revealed on Thursday about 50 people were fined $4500 for “blatant” breaches during the recent lockdown.
Meanwhile, Queensland authorities confirmed a Melton couple who tested positive for coronavirus did not have an exemption to enter the state, but are believed to have been moving their for work.
The couple, both in their 40s, left Melbourne on June 1 and travelled through NSW, before arriving on the Sunshine Coast on June 5.
They first became symptomatic on June 3, but Victorian contact tracers have little information on the case given they are now in the hands of Queensland authorities.
Prof Cheng flagged the new cases could stall the planned easing of restrictions in greater Melbourne from Thursday June 17.
“We may need to hold on the current settings for a little longer,” Prof Cheng said.
MORE EXPOSURE SITES ADDED
A McDonald’s drive through, multiple Coles supermarkets and a Woolworths are among the latest additions to Victoria’s long list of Covid-19 exposure sites.
The state’s health department made eight additions to the alerts list of venues visited by a confirmed case of Covid-19 on Thursday as Melbourne’s tough lockdown was lifted.
All of the new venues were listed as tier 2 exposure sites, meaning people who visited during the times listed need to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
See the full list here
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