Rolling coverage: Victorian teenager tests positive after returning from NSW’s Northern Beaches, mutant strain detected in Victoria
A highly contagious variant of the coronavirus has been detected in returned travellers in Victoria.
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A mutated form of the coronavirus has been found in Victoria, sparking concerns over arrivals from England.
The two cases were picked up in returned travellers in hotel quarantine, along with another two cases in NSW.
The UK COVID-19 variant – believed to up to 70 per cent more contagious – has sparked widespread border closures across the world.
But chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the altered virus was, at this stage, largely a “concern in the UK” and the Australian hotel quarantine system should be trusted.
“Here in Australia, we have our ways of dealing with people coming from overseas in terms of our hotel quarantine system … that has been extremely effective in controlling any virus that may be coming from other parts of the world,” he said.
“We put faith in that.”
Australia’s peak body of medical experts – the AHPPC – met on Tuesday to discuss the developments.
“Four cases with this variant have been documented in Australia, two in NSW and Victoria respectively at this time,” they said in a statement on Tuesday evening.
“All cases have been or are being managed in hotel quarantine and the variant has not spread into the community.
“Australia has a world-class system for genetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 to be able to detect occurrence of this variant. “
VICTORIAN TEEN INFECTED IN NSW OUTBREAK
A Victorian teenager has been infected in New South Wales’ Northern Beaches outbreak, testing positive to coronavirus after returning home.
The new case is a 15-year-old girl from the Moonee Valley area who had visited several of the high-risk exposure sites in Sydney and drove back to Melbourne with a parent, who has since tested negative.
DHHS said close contacts were believed to be limited but contact tracing is underway.
“At this stage, there are no exposure sites, but if this change we will provide further updates,” health authorities said.
“Anyone who has retuned from the Northern Beaches area, Greater Sydney or the Central Coast needs to get tested and quarantine for 14 days.”
All close contacts of the infected Victorian’s family have been interviewed and the DHHS is following up with secondary close contacts.
Health Minister Martin Foley said the girl had visited multiple high-risk exposure sites including The Avalon RSL and The Avalon Bowling Club.
He also said Victoria is not looking at mandatory testing for all arrivals from New South Wales outside the hot and red zones.
Two new cases have also been diagnosed in hotel quarantine.
Victoria has not recorded any cases of local transmission for 53 consecutive days.
It comes as New South Wales recorded eight new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours with seven linked to the Northern Beaches cluster and the other under investigation.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said a decision on opening the Northern Beaches up for Christmas will be made on Wednesday.
“We’ll be looking to make a decision tomorrow based on what we understand and know during the day,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We’re making an announcement tomorrow on what the future of the northern beaches and Greater Sydney will be.”
TIME IS UP FOR RETURNING VICTORIANS
Victorians trying to return from NSW coronavirus red zones will be turned back.
The hard line comes as the Northern Beaches cluster grew to 83 cases on Monday with 15 new infections confirmed — fewer than expected.
Many Victorians north of the border made frantic dashes home before the Monday midnight deadline.
Anyone entering Victoria from Sydney or the NSW Central Coast must now do 14 days mandatory hotel quarantine.
Border checkpoints are operating at more than a dozen locations.
Delays were expected after the federal government approved just 50 extra defence personnel who will be used for logistics support, taking the number of ADF personnel working in Victoria to 285.
Victoria on Monday posted its 52nd straight day of no local COVID-19 cases, but a recently arrived flight attendant who has been in self-quarantine pushed the number of active cases to 13.
The flight attendant arrived on a flight from Doha with crew on Saturday. Their colleagues tested negative and left Australia on a crew-only flight to complete their quarantine in their home country.
One local close contact, who drove the crew from the airport to their hotel, was identified. They are now serving 14 days’ quarantine.
Queensland will reintroduce its hard border control for Sydney residents as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged interstate colleagues to exercise caution.
“When we closed the border to Victoria, their case numbers were more than 140,’’ she said.
“Every response has to be proportionate to the risk.”
NSW’s chief health officer confirmed the more virulent strain of COVID-19 in Britain had been detected in two travellers in hotel quarantine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the priority for defence was helping with hotel quarantine.
“We will be providing response for additional logistics and other support to the Victorian government to support their border operations but it does not extend to actual patrolling of the borders,” he said.
People can enter Victoria if they have only visited or are from the areas outside the Northern Beaches, Greater Sydney and Central Coast.
Travellers returning from the Northern Beaches will not be permitted to enter Victoria.
SYDNEY FACES DAY OF RECKONING
Sydney is facing a moment of truth today as authorities race against time to save Christmas for millions amid fresh venue warnings across the city.
Authorities are understood to be monitoring the situation hourly today and – in particular – they are watching to see if infections are spreading to other areas of Sydney outside of the northern beaches cluster.
Meanwhile, gyms, cinemas and supermarkets are among the new venues added to NSW Health’s alert list.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has indicated that key decisions on family gathering rules will come on Wednesday morning – meaning the next 24 hours are critical.
“Look, unfortunately, one day’s results doesn’t tell us it’s a trend,” she said on Monday.
“Obviously, we have halved the number of cases overnight, but in a pandemic, there is a level of volatility, so we’ll closely monitor what happens obviously to 8pm tonight and we’ll be making a final call on Wednesday morning.”
NORTHERN BEACHES LOCKDOWN BREACH PROBED
Police are investigating a COVID restrictions breach after a Northern Beaches local visited a leisure centre on the NSW south coast.
The local from the COVID-stricken LGA, which is in lockdown until December 23, visited Ulladulla Leisure Centre three hours south of Sydney at 4pm on Monday.
A statement from the local council said staff “identified” they were from the Northern Beaches and had recently been back home before quickly shutting the centre down.
“Council staff directed the patron to leave the Council-premise immediately … as a precautionary measure, Council will close the Ulladulla Leisure Centre,” the statement read.
The current Public Health Order means Northern Beaches locals must follow the restrictions if they have visited their home area since December 10, regardless of if they are currently there or not.
It is not yet known why the resident was in Ulladulla but police sources confirmed they were investigating further.
STILL HOPE FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Determined holiday-makers are sticking with getaway plans in virus-free areas across the border.
But they’re being given leeway to change accommodation bookings if the coronavirus situation in NSW deteriorates.
Big 4 Holiday Parks acting CEO Rick Bischoff told the Herald Sun while it was safe to travel into much of regional NSW the chain, which operates in both states, had a flexible approach to bookings.
Most people were biding their time before deciding whether to alter Christmas and summer getaway plans.
“A lot of people have holidays booked and are quite nervous about it all,” Mr Bischoff said.
“We’re not seeing a lot of cancellations at this stage coming through, a lot of people had already decided to holiday local. We’re taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach.”
Big 4 parks in Victoria were fully operational and in demand. Parks near Sydney had been most severely impacted by cancellations.
Mr Bischoff said refunds and rescheduled bookings were being offered to anyone unable to travel or concerned about the situation.
Similar provisions were being made by other accommodation providers.
Border communities have been turned upside down with checkpoints reinstated between Victoria and NSW.
For those in the Campaspe Shire, which takes in Echuca, life was just returning to normal when the Sydney cluster shut the border.
Shire CEO Declan Morre said while “frustrating” the checkpoint was necessary.
“For the border communities it’s even more difficult … because we’ve been through it for several months and were trying to get back to some level of normality,” Mr Morre said.
Local businesses, and those across the river in Moama, would be hardest hit.
Holiday-makers on both sides of the border were urged to stay abreast of changing government regulations and monitor the situation.
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