Security guard cluster linked to southeastern suburbs family outbreak amid second wave fears
Five security guards who worked a similar shift at the Stamford Hotel have contracted coronavirus after breaching social distancing protocols, the health department says. The outbreak has also been linked to a family cluster in the southeastern suburbs.
Coronavirus
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A coronavirus outbreak at a Melbourne hotel continues to grow, with a further five cases linked to the cluster overnight.
Among the state’s 13 new coronavirus cases, five were in security guards who had worked during a similar period at the Stamford Plaza hotel, bringing the total number of cases in the cluster to seven.
The Stamford Plaza outbreak has been linked to a family outbreak in the southeastern suburbs, with a family member revealed to have worked as a security contractor at the Stamford Plaza hotel.
The state’s deputy chief health officer said that while the security guards were trained in coronavirus protocol, other staff members had reported breaches in social distancing to the hotel’s management.
“[There was] some closer mingling than we would like,” Dr Annaliese Van Dieman said.
The health department is investigating the outbreak.
Three of the cases were detected through routine testing and those cases are under investigation.
Two cases were linked to a Keilor Downs family, and are close contacts of another known case.
One other case was believed to have been acquired through community transmission.
One case was linked to the Rydges Hotel cluster, bringing the total number of cases in that cluster to 17. The individual was already in quarantine when they developed symptoms.
Only one case was recorded in a returned overseas traveller.
A total of 13 new cases were recorded, but one cases was reclassified, seeing the total number of Victorian cases rise by 12 to 1792.
There are currently 91 active cases in Victoria, but Dr Van Dieman said the easing of restrictions on Monday is “going ahead as planned”.
Dr Van Dieman said she was not as concerned about the number of cases recorded today as the majority of their sources could be traced, compared to yesterday when there were a higher number of cases under investigation.
It comes as Victorian health authorities are closely monitoring rising infection numbers to determine if the state is in the early stages of a much-feared second wave of coronavirus.
Authorities yesterday said a third Black Lives Matter protester with COVID-19 — one of 18 new cases — could have caught the deadly virus at the rally.
The man, aged in his 20s, worked two shifts at the H&M store at Northland while possibly infectious last week, forcing its closure yesterday.
With a dozen of the 18 new cases detected circulating in the community, Department of Health experts are searching for trends to indicate if the situation will worsen under eased social distancing restrictions. Victoria has had 81 new COVID-19 cases in the past week, compared to just 21 in the previous seven days.
Victorian Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese Van Dieman said the community transmission cases revealed yesterday were particularly concerning because only one could be linked to a known cluster.
“The last two days have been enough to make us a bit worried,” Dr van Dieman said.
“It might just be a blip, it might be two days of high case numbers, it might be a second wave — I hope it’s not.
“We don’t know what’s out there in the community, that is why we … need people to get tested if they have got symptoms.”
When the pandemic’s first wave kicked off in March, Victoria’s COVID-19 cases quadrupled each week for a month until international arrivals were forced into mandatory quarantine. While the recent increase has not yet followed the same extreme upturn, Dr van Dieman said a second wave could be detected if the past week’s trend continued for another fortnight.
Authorities are most concerned about cases found in routine testing with no known source., rather than in return travellers or those which can be traced via close contacts to existing clusters, such as Cedar Meats or family outbreaks in Croydon or Coburg.
“As much as we don’t want to see any cases, it is really the cases that don’t have a known link that we worry about,” Dr van Dieman said.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the spike in community transmission cases was concerning. “Obviously I’m concerned about the increasing number of cases in the past few days,” she said.
“I just want to reiterate the message to Victorians, take this issue seriously.”
Amid criticism from NSW over Victoria’s handling of the virus, microbiologist Peter Collignon said the states’s harsh restrictions, including a ban on Mother’s Day gatherings, had little benefit.
“If you overdo it, you find people rebelling,” he said. “My view is Victoria always went too far.”
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