Rolling coverage: 21 new virus cases sends 14-day average plummeting as Andrews defends decision not to fine Casey rule-breakers
The Premier has defended the call to not fine rule-breaking members of a troubling virus cluster in the Casey area, while metropolitan Melbourne’s 14-day coronavirus case average has dipped to 39.3, with 21 new cases and seven deaths recorded overnight.
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Victoria has recorded 21 new cases of coronavirus overnight, causing metropolitan Melbourne’s 14-day case average to dip to 39.3.
This marks the first time the rolling average has decreased below 40, and a threshold of between 30 and 50 average cases is required for the state to wind back restrictions on September 28.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton said the relatively low numbers were a cause for optimism.
“It is fantastic to have case numbers lower than the temperature in Victoria,” Prof Sutton said.
“It is the first time in a very long time.”
Despite the low numbers, Prof Sutton said restrictions won’t be eased any earlier than planned.
“Nothing will budge that date,” he said.
“I think we always reflecting on where we are at on a daily basis. But we are, more or less, on track with what has been modelled.”
Seven deaths have also been recorded, of which six were linked to aged care facilities.
Two of the deaths occured before Friday.
The deaths include one male in his 60s, three males in their 80s, and one male and two females in their 90s.
The number of cases with an unknown source now stands at 64 in metropolitan Melbourne, and zero in regional Victoria.
The 14-day average for regional Victoria now stands at 1.9.
There are 89 Victorians in hospital, of which eight are in intensive care and five on a ventilator.
The number of active cases across the state has dropped to 834, including 123 healthcare workers, 433 linked to aged care homes and 28 cases in regional Victoria.
Of the 21 new cases, 18 are in metropolitan Melbourne and one in regional Victoria, with two cases the subject of further investigation.
13 of the cases are linked to known clusters, while eight are under investigation.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the decreasing figures were a testament to the efficacy of the strategy.
“This strategy is working. Those numbers tell a powerful story of what can be achieved when you stay the course,” he said.
“When you don’t get sidetracked by some of the loudest voices, who I understand are hurting and want to open up, we would all like to open up as quickly as possible, but we won’t be open for very long if we don’t first get these numbers down to a low level and I think I would say to everyone watching and listening right now logic, common sense … our own experience shows us that you can’t hope to keep numbers low until you first get them low.”
ANDREWS DEFENDS DECISION NOT TO FINE CASEY CLUSTER
The decision not to fine members of the five households who broke coronavirus restrictions by visiting each other when infectious is the right decision, Mr Andrews said.
“I will concede this might be a counterintuitive point and perhaps we would all feel better if they got stuck with a fine, but the value of information that allows you to take one test result and identify the 33 other people who have got it, is much more than $1652,” he said.
“I think that if you start [fining positive cases], you run the very real risk that people are not full and frank in the interviews, or indeed some people may not come forward and get tested, if they fear that they can’t do that in an open process.
“If we were to try and do a kind of retro-analysis of every one of the now close to 20,000 interviews that we have done, through the course of those interviews, many, many people in many different ways will have essentially admitted to doing certain things, and it is about trying to balance up.
“We might all feel better if those five families got a fine, but ultimately the value of the fine is nothing compared to the value of the information that they give us.”
Prof Sutton said the cluster linked to the five households in the Casey area was “under control” but could still grow.
“We will always look out over the 14 day period when the new cases can emerge – 14 days from the time of last exposure,” he said.
“So there is absolutely a possibility of additional cases.
“What we do know is people isolating appropriately and that close contacts are in quarantine but people have obviously been exposed to the virus and they can develop illness any time up to 14 days after having been exposed.
“Very few close contacts outside of the cluster that is known.”
Prof Sutton said two cases linked to the cluster were in hospital, but the total number of cases in the Casey area had decreased from 74 to 67.
THE GLEN, FOUNTAIN GATE CONSIDERED HIGH-RISK SPOTS
Several popular suburban shopping centres have been identified as high risk locations for community transmission, according to the DHHS.
Fountain Gate shopping centre in Narre Warren has been linked to a virus cluster in the Casey area, with 30 cases linked to the outbreak.
Locations that may have been exposed to virus cases include:
– Chemist Warehouse, Brunswick (on 11/09/2020);
– Burwood One Shopping Centre (between 13/09/2020 and 14/09/2020);
– Provans Mitre 10, Clifton Hill (on 10/09/2020);
– Craigieburn Shopping Centre (on 11/09/2020);
– “The Glen” Woolworths, Glen Waverley (on 06/09/2020);
– Greenvales LakesWoolworths (on 06/09/2020);
– Westfield Fountain Gate, Narre Warren (between 18/08/2020 and 06/09/2020);
– Coles Roxburgh Park (on 06/09/2020 and 10/09/2020);
– Freshplus Roxburgh Park (on 10/09/2020);
– KFC Westgate, Port Melbourne (on 11/09/2020 and 12/09/2020).
Anyone who visited these locations during these times is urged to keep an eye out for coronavirus symptoms and get tested if they appear.
CASES BY THE NUMBERS
The largest active non-aged care clusters include:
- 26 active cases are currently linked to the Casey community outbreak (total cases: 34);
- 13 active cases are currently linked to Footscray Hospital (total cases: 15);
- 7 active cases are currently linked to Vawdrey Australia Truck Manufacturer (total cases: 64);
- 6 active cases are currently linked to Dandenong Police Station (total cases: 17);
- 6 active cases are currently linked to the Alfred Hospital (total cases: 7).
The largest aged care clusters include (cumulatively):
- 255 cases have been linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community in Werribee;
- 219 cases have been linked to Epping Gardens Aged Care in Epping;
- 216 cases have been linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner;
- 166 cases have been linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Ardeer;
- 140 cases have been linked to Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes in Kilsyth;
- 130 cases have been linked to BlueCross Ruckers Hill Aged Care Facility in Northcote;
- 128 cases have been linked to Twin Parks Aged Care in Reservoir;
- 124 cases have been linked to Cumberland Manor Aged Care Facility in Sunshine North;
- 121 cases have been linked to Japara Goonawarra Aged Care Facility in Sunbury;
- 119 cases have been linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Heidelberg.
VICTORIANS DESPERATE FOR A HOLIDAY
Regional holiday parks are being swamped with bookings from cooped-up Victorians desperate to get away.
Triple the number of cabins and camp sites have been booked this week, compared to the same period last year.
And they’ve been booked for an average 25 per cent longer than usual, with the parks the furthest away from Melbourne proving the most popular.
At least half the bookings were for school holidays, and families were booking “staycations” at one place of up to a week, in preference to long weekends, Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani said.
“Over the past few days, since the state government announced travel restrictions would be lifted in regional Victoria, bookings are three times what they were for the same time last year,” she said.
“And it’s areas like Mildura, Swan Hill and the Grampians — basically places that are more, and sometimes much more, than two hours away from Melbourne — which are doing the best.
“That’s a big shift, because historically it’s the places within that two hour halo of Melbourne which have been most well patronised.
“What we’re seeing now is people are really showing a propensity to want to travel to the further-flung destinations … clearly people are looking to explore places that they haven’t been before.”
Regional caravan park owners told the Herald Sun most of their bookings were from people living in other regional areas, but some summer bookings were from Melburnians, hopeful COVID travel restrictions would be lifted by the end of the year.
The information, provided to the VTIC by holiday parks, had delighted tourism authorities, Ms Mariani said.
Regional holidays were being substituted for interstate and overseas travel, which was fantastic for kickstarting Victoria’s economy, she said.
“It’s wonderful to see Victorians exploring their own beautiful backyard,” she said.
Data released on Friday by Tourism Research Australia revealed regional tourism had contributed a staggering $9.4bn to the Victorian economy and employed 110,000 people before the pandemic hit.
The research, which covered the 2018-2019 financial year and was the most recent available, showed tourism was responsible for one in every five new jobs created in regional Victoria, Ms Mariani said.
Phillip Island had the greatest reliance on tourism in Victoria, with nearly a quarter of the region’s economy derived from visitor spending.
The TRA’s Regional Tourism Satellite Accounts report shows tourism grew in regional Victoria by 12 per cent from the 2017-18 year to last year, outpacing tourism growth in Melbourne.
— Mandy Squires
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SUTTON IN WAR OF WORDS WITH AFGHANI COMMUNITY LEADERS
Tensions have boiled over between Brett Sutton and Afghani community leaders after the Chief Health Officer pointed the finger at the community for the concerning outbreak that’s currently spreading across Dandenong and Casey.
Prof Sutton apologised for any hurt caused by his comments.
“I commented on the fact that all communities across the world prioritise and care for those closest to them and everyone wants to do the right thing,” he said.
“It inadvertently called out Afghanistan, which I think was inappropriate, but I was just reflecting on my experience of working with diverse communities internationally in humanitarian work and the fact that there really is a universal human experience.
“We all want to look after our families, we all want to protect the broader community. I think that is the case across Melbourne.”
Read the full story here.
LOCALS FLOCK TO THEIR LOCALS TO CELEBRATE
Regional Victorians, freed from COVID bans, have jumped at the chance to eat and drink in public again, pouring into cafes, restaurants and pubs.
It was the phone incessantly ringing on Tuesday that alerted Bright Brewery staff to the fact coronavirus restrictions were being lifted in regional Victoria, and they could get back to work.
“We didn’t even know the announcement had been made until the bookings started coming in,” manager Laura Gray said. “The phone has literally not stopped ringing and the emails and social media messages have just kept coming since then.
“We had about a day-and-a-half to turn things around, from being virtually closed to open.”
One of the brewery’s “regular regulars”, local Bryan Farrell, was among the first in the door, Ms Gray said. He and partner Kristi Hacket came in for lunch on Thursday.
When Mr Farrell heard the brewery was set to shut in the second lockdown, he had come in every day “to get his fill, while he still could”, Ms Gray said. “He’s very supportive.”
While joyous locals made up the tables for the brewery’s first lunch service after restrictions lifted, by dinner time visitors from other parts of Victoria had started to trickle in, Ms Gray said. They, too, had wide smiles, big thirsts and healthy appetites.
Tables in cafes, restaurants and wine bars in the picturesque High Country tourist destination have also been filling fast since regional Victoria was declared open for business.
Even local kids, now able to explore and play without limits, have been relishing their freedom and taking advantage of Bright’s many natural attractions.
Despite the spring chill, some even celebrated their new-found freedom by jumping in the town’s popular swimming hole and kicking up their heels in the river.
Locals are leading the charge in central Victoria’s post-COVID revival also. Patrons pulled down their masks to enjoy their beers at the Kangaroo Hotel, and found that freedom tasted sweet.
It has been a tough six months for sisters Donna and Dawn Wood since they took over the pub in March.
The siblings opened the bar just two weeks before Victoria’s first lockdown and were dealt a further blow when regional areas were placed back under stage three restrictions in August.
While the pair have kept the business running by offering food for takeaway and delivery, to see the beer finally flowing again was a sight for sore eyes, Donna said.
“We haven’t made any money but we had to hang in there and say ‘hey, we’re here’,” she said. “It’s been a long time to be closed but we would rather everyone is safe.”
As he sipped his first pot of beer, Maldon local Ian Stevens was just as happy to see restrictions relaxed for regional Victoria. “We need people back in the town,” he said.
Local woman Jan Bainbridge called in to the pub for a glass of bubbly with friends, as they celebrated being able to travel again.
“Not only can we get out and enjoy a drink and a meal out again, it also means that we can go on holidays,” she said.
— Mandy Squires, Sharon McGowan
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