21 new cases, more mystery infections amid fears for Melbourne’s west

The list of exposure sites continues to balloon with an Australian Taxation Office site in Moonee Ponds and a Melton West supermarket the latest venues to be deemed high risk.

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Twenty-one new cases of locally acquired coronavirus were detected in the community on Thursday, as health authorities contemplate a further lockdown extension.

It comes as businesses struggling through the extended lockdown are set to get access to more support under a $367 million funding boost.

Meanwhile, exposure sites list has continued to balloon, with 380 venues listed on Thursday night, including an Australian Taxation Office building.

The ATO’s Moonee Ponds branch was listed as a Tier 1 site — anyone who visited the basement or ground floor on August 10 or 11 between 6.10am and 2.30pm must get tested and isolate for 14 days.

Other Tier 1 sites include a Coles at Woodgrove Shopping Centre in Melton West on August 9 between 12pm and 1pm and the Coffee Club Cafe at the same centre on August 5 between 1.14pm and 2.18pm.

SYDNEY WOMEN NABBED AT AIRPORT

Two more cases were acquired interstate, according to the Department of Health.

Covid testing commander Jeroen Weimar said two women flew from Sydney to Melbourne without the right permits.

The pair was taken to hotel quarantine, where they tested positive. They have now been fined more than $5000.

Their flight, Qantas flight QF471 from Sydney to Melbourne on Monday August 9, has been deemed a Tier 1 exposure site and the 46 travellers on the flight must immediately get tested and quarantine for 14 days.

Mr Weimar said he did not know how the Sydney women explained their actions to authorities at the airport.

“They did not have the right permit with them. No permit would have been issued. It was a restricted zone,” Mr Weimar said.

“This is the risk of interstate travel at this point in time. This is why … the chief health officer has declared Sydney and New South Wales as an extreme red zone.

“This is why we are putting such significant barriers in place to limit all unnecessary travel between our states at this most critical time.

“There’s no point in getting angry, frustrated, we just have to do what we have to do. I am pleased the systems work.”

Two Sydney women were stopped without permits at Melbourne Airport. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew Henshaw

FOUR VICTORIAN MYSTERY CASES

Of Thursday’s 21 new cases, 17 are linked to current outbreaks and 15 had been in isolation for their full infectious period.

But four cases remain under investigation.

The new cases include:

– Ten people linked to Al-Taqwa College (three staff members, one student and six household members). All were in isolation for the duration of their infectious period

– Four people linked to the Newport Football Club (one player, three household contacts)

– Three linked to CS Square in Caroline Springs (all household contacts, two in isolation)

– One new case in the inner north with social connections to some exposure sites, but no exact link

– Three cases across two unconnected households in Glenroy with no acquisition source (one is a student at Glenroy West Primary School)

The new figures come after a day when 45,408 Victorians got tested, and 25,418 vaccine doses were administered.

The quiet streets of Melbourne CBD during the city’s sixth lockdown. Picture: David Geraghty

HELP FOR BATTLING BUSINESSES

The Commonwealth and the Andrews government have agreed to jointly fund more assistance for businesses affected by restrictions.

Businesses struggling through the extended lockdown are set to get access to more support under the $367 million funding boost.

This includes extra payments under existing programs announced last week and a boost to the newly created Small Business Covid hardship Fund.

Josh Frydenberg said Victoria had now received more than $45bn in support from the Commonwealth.

“This is a very difficult and challenging time for all Victorians,” the Treasurer said.

“Along with the state government, we will continue to support Victorians through the crisis to ensure households and business can bounce back from this latest set of restrictions.”

“Victorian businesses have shown remarkable resilience during the pandemic.”

INFECTED TRAVELLERS ‘NOT ON NSW RADAR’

Mr Weimar said the two women should have been stopped from boarding the plane in Sydney, but were not on the “radar” of Sydney Health authorities.”

“They (Sydney authorities) are pretty busy, probably busy with more pressing things,” he said.

“These people should not have left. Let’s be very clear.

“Our colleagues in Sydney would agree with that. They should not have left in the first place.

“It is a moot point as to whether they should have got tested, they should not have been at the airport.”

MYSTERY CASE TRACED

Victoria’s first mystery case involving a testing site traffic controller appears to have been solved, with authorities confident that a breach sparked transmission of the virus.

Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar on Thursday confirmed the case had been epidemiologically linked to the state’s previous outbreak.

It’s understood the traffic controller, who tested positive on July 28, caught the virus from positive people who had turned out to get tested.

Mr Weimar said the traffic controller used the same bathroom as people who were getting tested at the site.

“There was a breach of infection prevention control,” Mr Weimar admitted.

NSW CASES SOAR AGAIN, ACT LOCKED DOWN

NSW has recorded 345 new cases and two deaths as the Delta strain continues to spread across the state.

Of those new cases, at least 60 were infectious in the community.

Canberra will enter a seven-day lockdown from 5pm after a positive case of Covid-19 was detected in the territory.

The infection would be the first case of coronavirus in Canberra for more than a year.

The ACT has not faced a lockdown since April last year, which lasted for five weeks.

Under the lockdown rules, Canberrans will only be allowed to leave home to shop for essentials and medical supplies, to undertake essential work or study if it cannot be done at home, and to be vaccinated.

Childcare will remain open for parents and guardians who need to undertake essential work or study.

Outdoor exercise will be limited to one hour per day.

General retail will be closed and hospitality venues will only be able to operate takeaway services.

Mandatory mask wearing will also be reintroduced.

WESTERN SUBURBS ON HIGH ALERT

For the second time in the pandemic, Melbourne’s western suburbs are the frontline in Victoria’s battle against coronavirus.

With nearly 300 exposure sites and more than 12,000 primary close contacts, contact tracers are racing to plug gaps in their knowledge about how the virus has spread, while hospitals in the west come under strain as staff are forced to isolate.

A pathology lab in Aintree was on Thursday identified as a Tier 1 exposure site, after a positive case visited the clinic on August 7.

4Cyte Pathology has become synonymous with processing Covid test results but this particular clinic does not handle any coronavirus swabs.

The lab located at Woodlea Town Centre is the only Tier 1 site to be added by the health department to the growing list of exposure sites on Thursday, which now stands at 346.

Hopes of a quick end to the lockdown were dashed on Wednesday when the city learned of 20 new cases, including five not yet linked to any clusters.

It was later revealed these five were spread across two households, suggesting the presence of two mystery cases, who then infected their families.

Caroline Springs Square shopping centre is an exposure site. Picture: Tim Carrafa

But the discovery of any mystery infections six days into a snap lockdown has heightened anxiety among health officials that more people with Covid-19 are still in the community.

At the centre of this uncertainty are Melton and Caroline Springs, where everyone who worked at the CS Square shopping centre from August 2 to 6 has been deemed a high-risk Tier 1 contact.

Public health officials fear this region is where the great unknowns of this outbreak may still be lurking.

About 400 people were tested in Caroline Springs on Monday before services were expanded and this ramped up to 1200 on Tuesday, out of 41,571 tests across the entire state.

“There are simply too many cases, and too many cases the origin of which are not clear,” Premier Daniel Andrews said on Wednesday. “We have added, in fact, to the number of mysteries, the number of unanswered questions out there.

“Every mystery case — there is at least one other person who gave it to them.”

Mr Weimar said the department had good information about the new mystery cases and was confident they could be linked to other clusters.

But officials are still unsure how an Al-Taqwa College teacher and the man in the City of Maribyrnong cluster became infected, with most of the state’s infections linked to those two transmission chains.

Melton is the other epicentre of the public health effort, with more than a dozen exposure sites and 13 active cases.

Rolling out vaccines is another crucial step in building a ring around the latest outbreak, but governments face an uphill battle on this front.

The Herald Sun spoke to 55 people across several shopping districts in Caroline Springs on Wednesday about their Covid vaccination status, and two-thirds were not yet vaccinated.

While 24 people had at least received a first dose of the AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccines, almost 20 others had not booked an appointment.

A closed-off cafe at CS Square shopping centre. Picture: Tim Carrafa

Ten of those who had not booked cited concerns about the available vaccines, while nine said they were not yet eligible.

Supermarket worker Ishan Thakur, 31, waited in the rain at Caroline Springs Leisure Centre for a test after learning a positive case had visited businesses close to his workplace.

Mr Thakur said he had not yet been vaccinated because he and his wife were waiting to see how the rollout panned out, but urged people in the area to get tested.

“It’s not that I’m against it,” he said. “I think everybody should be doing what they can, not just for yourself but for your own family and everybody around you.”

Owner of the Springs Fish and Chips Viren Jhullar urged those eligible for a vaccine to roll up their sleeves because his shop had taken a hit from having neighbouring businesses and nearby schools closed.

Mr Jhullar is awaiting his AstraZeneca appointment, which is scheduled for next week.

“All of us would like things to get back to normal,” Mr Jhullar said. “The only way we can do that is by doing the right thing by getting vaccinated, wearing your mask and maintaining your distances.”

Premier Daniel Andrews announces the extension of Melbourne’s lockdown. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Red Beetle Cafe owner Catherine Cvetkovski said news of the recent exposure sites across the road from her business had caused profits to plummet.

“We’re down about 70 per cent,” Ms Cvetkovski said. “We’re doing (delivery service) Doordash but it’s not the same.”

The Premier on Wednesday urged everyone who could get the jab to do so. “The best vaccine is the one you can take today,” Mr Andrews said.

Hospitals in the city’s west were crippled by staff shortages, with hundreds of Western Health workers forced to quarantine after being caught up in exposure sites. Western Health chief executive Russell Harrison said the loss of staff forced Footscray and Sunshine hospitals to divert ambulances to other hospitals.

“As a result of high numbers of community exposure sites across the region where a large number of our staff live, there are now more than 280 staff furloughed across the hospitals and services we run,” he said.

Australian Medical Association Victorian vice-president Dr Sarah Whitelaw said the difficulties exposed underlying workforce shortages plaguing the state’s wider health system.

Viren Jhullar, owner of The Springs Fish and Chips Central, has been hit hard by lockdowns. Picture: Tim Carrafa

DOCTOR’S STRING OF EXPOSURE SITES

Ten new Tier 2 exposure sites have been identified at Melbourne Paediatric Specialists in Parkville – adjacent to the Royal Children’s Hospital – after a doctor worked while infectious on August 9.

The health department has confirmed the specialist used a shared elevator in the building, located at 48 Flemington Rd.

Anyone who visited one of the following sites on August 9 between 7.45am and 1.50pm must get tested urgently and isolate until they receive a negative result:

• Melbourne Allergy Centre & Children’s Specialists (MACCS) Medical Group and Suite 4 on Level 1

• Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation on Level 2

• The Children’s Private Medical Group, Paediatric Gastroenterology Victoria, pathology collection, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Melbourne Heart Clinic for Kids on Level 3

• Specialists At The Kids and medical imaging on Level 4

The specialist clinic is home to some of the most highly experienced children’s doctors and allied health professionals in Australia.

The doctor also works at the Royal Children’s and Royal Victorian Eye and Ear hospitals but it is understood he did not work at these sites while infectious.

GET VACCINATED AT A PHARMACY

Victorians are being urged to book a Covid-19 jab at their nearest pharmacy with thousands of appointments available next week.

An advertising campaign to promote getting vaccinated at pharmacies is being rolled out across Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.

The blitz comes as pharmacies offering AstraZeneca vaccines across the state grew from seven to 490 stores from Monday.

Nationwide, more than 2500 pharmacies are to come online next week.

Victorian pharmacies will be entitled to a weekly allocation of 150 doses.

It has been revealed that Australian Defence Force personnel who do not vaccinate against Covid will be barred from certain duties.

Although the jab will not be made compulsory, personnel have been told their “fighting capability” would be affected if they did not vaccinate in the same way they do against measles and the flu.

Defence has told personnel those who did not get vaccinated would be restricted from going on certain deployments overseas or in the community.