Royal Children’s Hospital cancer ward deemed Tier 1 exposure site; 1420 cases, 11 deaths recorded
The Royal Children’s Hospital oncology ward has been named a Tier 1 exposure site after a patient’s Covid-positive parent attended across three different days.
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The Royal Children’s Hospital oncology ward has been deemed a Tier 1 exposure site after a Covid-positive person attended.
The person was on the ward for three days from Saturday to Monday, forcing patients, carers and staff into isolation for 14 days.
RCH Chief Executive Officer Bernadette McDonald said the infected visitor was the parent of a patient.
“The exposure we think was a few days ago and the positive result has just come through,” she said.
“At this stage the contact tracing is unfolding.”
Patients and carers inside the ward will be confined to their rooms for 14 days.
No new cases have yet been recorded with testing currently underway.
FOLEY’S FRESH JAB AT FEDERAL GOVT
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has challenged the Commonwealth government to invest more funding in Victorian hospitals as healthcare workers prepare for an influx of Covid-19 patients.
When asked if the federal government should provide more funding in the state’s hospital system, Mr Foley said, “they should”.
“I‘ve noticed some of the public commentary especially by the prime minister, he talks of it as shakedown politics, it’s actually partnership politics,” he said.
“Since 2016, the Commonwealth government has reduced its overall contribution of support for our public health system.
“It used to be 50-50 as the general principle. It was reduced to 45-55.
“All of the states and territories came together in April to share our concerns with the Commonwealth in this regard and pointed out that as we were dealing with more than 12 months of Covid-19, our systems were stretched, our people were exhausted and we needed further investment.”
BIG RAPID TEST CHANGE COMING
More than two million rapid antigen tests will be rolled out across Victoria’s healthcare system before being trialled in other high risk settings.
Health Minister Martin Foley made the announcement on Wednesday.
The state government will purchase the test kits as part of a broader range of testing measures.
Large rapid antigen testing trials are already underway including with 1200 employees at least three times a week on a level crossing removal project, and for emergency department triaging at the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
The government has flagged the antigen tests would be rolled out across other key settings including schools, childcare and corrections.
There are currently 33 different rapid antigen tests authorised for use by the TGA in Australia.
Rapid antigen testing – while not as effective as the standard PCR test – deliver test results within 15 to 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Mr Foley announced border changes for Victorians wishing to return home from New South Wales.
Non locked-down areas of NSW and ACT will change from red to orange zones.
Those entering Victoria will need to have a test after they return and must isolate until they get a negative result.
Sydney, some regional areas and the ACT are considered “extreme risk zones”.
They will be downgraded to red zones.
“That means Victorian residents can return through an online application,” Mr Foley said.
“They will need to test and home quarantine for 14 days and we will continue to monitor and as we are confident the risk continues to be mitigated in NSW.”
It comes as eleven more Victorians have died with Covid, a the state announced another 1420 new cases on Wednesday.
Nine of the deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours in Victoria were from Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
A woman in her 70s and two women in their 90s from the local government area of Whittlesea died on Tuesday, as well as two women and a man in their 70s and a man in his 80s from Hume.
A man in his 70s from Moreland and a woman in her 60s from Darebin also died.
In the west, a man in his 70s from Hobsons Bay died from Covid-19, while a man in his 50s from Casey also lost his battle with the virus.
Of the 525 Victorians currently in hospital with Covid, 66 per cent were unvaccinated.
Health Minister Martin Foley also said 28 per cent had received their first dose and six per cent were completely inoculated.
Of the 525 people in hospital, 94 were in ICU and 53 were hooked onto a ventilator.
More than 71,000 Victorians were tested for Covid on Tuesday, while state jab hubs administered 36,542 vaccines.
Currently, 82.9 per cent of eligible Victorians have received a single dose of the jab, while 53.6 per cent are double-dosed.
There are 14,410 active cases across the state.
It comes the day after Victoria broke the national daily case record, with 1763 infections emerging on Tuesday.
The majority of new Covid-19 infections continue to emerge from Melbourne’s north.
Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar said 562 of Victoria’s new 1420 infections on Wednesday were linked to the city’s northern suburbs.
He listed the suburbs of Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park and Broadmeadows, while 377 cases on Wednesday were from the west in Tarneit, Truganina and Point Cook.
There were 89 cases in the east in suburbs such as Doncaster and Templestowe, and in the south-east there were 307 cases across Pakenham, Dandenong and Noble Park.
COVID LOOPHOLE FOR YEAR 12S
Schools in hot-spot areas do not have to check the Covid status of year 12 students before allowing them back on campus.
Although students from 22 postcodes were asked – but not required - to get tested over the weekend, they did not have to show evidence of a negative test before sitting the statewide General Achievement Test on Tuesday.
A letter to the students said it was possible they would not know their test result by Tuesday but could sit the test anyway.
“You will not be required to show evidence of a negative test to enter the assessment,” the letter said.
The testing blitz led to 33 students excluded from sitting the test ahead of time, but four who did sit the test have since tested positive.
This has led to Roxburgh College, Point Cook Secondary College, Glenroy Secondary College and William Ruthven Secondary College closing for cleaning.
It’s up to schools to check the covid status of their students, but asymptomatic students targeted in large blitzes do not have to isolate until they get a negative test, a source has said.
One mother whose daughter attends Point Cook Secondary College said she was furious the school didn’t check the covid tests of all students who came on campus on Tuesday.
“They’ve had all this time to get it right but they couldn’t handle 24 hours of year 12s being back on campus,” she said.
“Why would they bother to get kids tested if no one was going to check the result of the test?
“It’s meant positive kids have been at school and I am furious about it. The education department needs to get protocols in place before exams commence,” she said.
The mother told the Herald Sun a student at the school was in the middle of the test when they were pulled out by the principal and a parent.
A government spokesperson said the health and education departments would ensure “public health risks are minimised while quarantining as few students as possible”.
“Overall, schools did a fantastic job yesterday holding the GAT with COVIDSafe protocols in place, with just four cases among more than 85,000 students sitting the exam after targeted hotspot testing caught around 30 cases in students before the test,” he said.
Written exams start for most students on October 27.
STUDENTS TEST POSITIVE AFTER GAT
Several Covid-positive Year 12s sat the General Achievement Test (GAT) in classrooms across Melbourne on Tuesday.
Roxburgh College and Point Cook Senior Secondary College in Melbourne’s north and west were among hundreds of Victorian schools that held the assessment on Tuesday on-site.
They have both since reported that positive cases were in attendance.
In a letter to parents and carers on Tuesday night, seen by the Herald Sun, Roxburgh College said while the health department conducts its investigation, anyone who attended the GAT “must stay home and limit their movements until advised otherwise”.
A letter using the same template was also sent to parents, carers and students of Point Cook Senior Secondary College.
All four secondary schools closed after covid-positive students sat the General Achievement Test will reopen on Thursday.
The schools have been cleaned and are expected to be cleared for reopening tonight.
Year 12 students will be able to return to class except for those deemed to be close contacts of the infected students. Identification and contact of these students has been proceeding throughout the day, a government source has told the Herald Sun.
The schools affected are Roxburgh College, Point Cook Secondary College, Glenroy Secondary College and William Ruthven Secondary College.
Education Minister James Merlino announced on Monday that schools would reopen as soon as possible after a positive case and only a minimum number of students would have to isolate.
Meanwhile, a Year 12 student at Aquinas College in Ringwood was unaware a member of their family had been tested for Covid when they sat the GAT on Tuesday.
The family member has since tested positive, with the student now awaiting their test result.
The school said that “in an abundance of caution”, it will be closed on Wednesday for all Year 12 students.
Students in 22 postcodes with “high Covid case numbers” were strongly recommended to get tested before sitting the GAT this week, with 33 Year 12s testing positive as a result.
It is not yet known if the students who tested positive on Tuesday were still awaiting their test results when they sat the GAT.
The education department is expecting four Covid cases in schools, but the infections would not change the back-to-school roadmap.
A spokeswoman for Education Minister James Merlino said there are “plans in place to manage” the cases, and as few students as possible will be quarantined.
“We’re always looking at what more we can do. Rapid testing still isn’t in place for non-medical use at this point but as we’ve said we’re trialling it for school settings,” she said.
“Public health investigations are ongoing and the schools will close while cleaning is undertaken, but the Department of Health will work with the Department of Education and Training and individual schools to ensure that the public health risks are minimised while quarantining as few students as possible,” she said.
“Overall, schools did a fantastic job yesterday holding the GAT with Covid-safe protocols in place, with just four cases among more than 85,000 students sitting the exam after targeted hotspot testing caught around 30 cases in students before the test.”
It’s understood that VCAA will attempt to reschedule the exams of performance students or those with oral exams after their isolation periods, if resources allow.
MANDATORY JABS FOR COUNCIL STAFF
The City of Melbourne has announced a vaccination mandate for council staff, visitors and contractors, to be enforced from November 5.
Council chief executive Justin Hanney said the decision was in line with Victoria’s roadmap.
“Vaccination will be required to enter any City of Melbourne site, including libraries, recreation centres, community facilities, and administration offices including Town Hall,’’ Mr Hanney said.
Mr Hanney said he wanted to ensure the council was a safe and healthy place to work and visit.
“This is a complex decision that we have not made lightly, and we’re currently working through next steps,’’ he said.
VCE STUDENTS ASKED FOR JAB STATUS
Schools are asking year 12 students to report their vaccination status and undergo regular Covid testing now they are back on campus.
About 98 per cent of staff and 73 per cent of students have received at least one vaccination dose, education department figures show. More than half of students have had two doses, with teachers reporting it is as high as 95 per cent at some schools.
Despite this, the recent spike in Covid cases has exacerbated fears among students they may catch the virus and be unable to sit exams.
The state government continues to rule out online make-up exams, with sick or isolating students instead receiving a derived score.
Many year 12 students are imposing family lockdowns, quitting their casual jobs and refusing contact with unvaccinated friends.
Marcellin College principal Marco di Cesare said it was a “very nervous time”.
Of about 300 year 12 students at the Bulleen school, only two were self-isolating and had not returned, he said.
Some schools such as Carey Grammar are also collecting information about students’ vaccination status to assess the “relative exposure risk”.
Hotspot testing is expected to escalate in the lead-up to the first mass exam on October 27.
Independent Education Union general secretary Deb James said: “We all have our fingers crossed large-scale remote schooling will soon just be a topic for history classes.”
NO REST FOR OUR ANGELS
Frontline healthcare workers are skipping rest breaks and meals due to understaffing as they battle through the pandemic, the nation’s peak union body says.
A survey also reveals almost half of workers reported that they or their colleagues had been exposed to violence or threats in the workplace.
ACTU assistant secretary Liam O’Brien said the research showed that Australian workers, especially those in frontline healthcare, faced a host of risks beyond Covid.
“Frontline workers … should be able to rely on a safe workplace and robust OHS policies,” he said.
In the survey of 1540 workers across several industries, three in five health workers reported missing rest breaks at least some of the time, while 56 per cent said understaffing meant they were overworked.
CASE FOUND IN MILDURA
Mildura is on high alert after a new Covid case was detected on Tuesday evening.
“A health response is underway at the Mildura Law Courts after a court user tested positive to COVID-19,” a Court Services Victoria spokesperson said.
“The person was tested on Tuesday morning after presenting with Covid-like symptoms.”
The health department is working with Court Services Victoria to support affected staff and members of the public.
PROTEST CLUSTER GROWS
Seven people linked to those inside the CFMEU head office during riots two weeks ago have tested positive for coronavirus, including two babies.
In a statement said the CFMEU said the cluster had spread to family members of delegates and workers who had been inside the building and that this included elderly parents and children.
It comes amid concerns the riots have become a superspreader event as more cases are discovered from attendees who are turning up to hospital sick.
CFMEU state secretary John Setka said reckless protesters had led to family members being infected.
“These protesters are just selfish idiots with absolutely no care for anyone other than themselves,” he said.
“They have caused enormous stress and heartache for members families’ who were just doing their job on the day of the protest.
“While we welcome construction opening back up to 25 per cent today, these members won’t be going back to work and along with their families will be in quarantine for 2 weeks with the added stress of so many family members being very sick and some hospitalised.”
MORE MODERNA DOSES ON THE WAY
An extra 40,000 Moderna doses will arrive in Victoria from Thursday.
The doses were originally allocated to pharmacists who had not yet ordered the maximum number of jabs, but the supply will now to be split between the Sunshine Hospital and Austin Hospital.
Leftovers will be distributed to other state-run clinics. It comes as the state government launched an interactive map detailing vax rates across suburbs, revealing 27 suburbs across Melbourne’s northern, western, outer southeastern areas and inner-urban pockets had first dose rates below 75 per cent.
Grants totalling $1.5m will help deliver additional vaccine doses to GP clinics and pharmacies across suburbs with lower vaccination rates.
Lockdown in the Latrobe municipality ended at 11.59pm on Tuesday night after case numbers stabilised after jab rates grew 6 per cent. Almost 80 per cent of people in the area have had a first dose.
TEACHERS FIGHT JAB RULE
Two teachers challenging the state government’s mandatory Covid-19 vaccinations will have their cases heard within weeks.
The Supreme Court will run a hearing into the “no jab, no job” orders from October 25 – a week after they come into effect on October 18.
Teachers Belinda and Jack Cetnar faced a directions hearing on Tuesday to argue they had been “adversely affected” by the government’s plan, which requires all school staff to have a first vaccination by October 18, and a second jab by November 29, if they want to return to the classroom.
Ms Cetnar, a casual relief teacher, and Mr Cetnar, a horticulturalist teacher, represented themselves in court.
It comes as at least 150 Victoria Police officers are believed to be opposed to mandatory Covid vaccination.
The force is this week expected to announce its policy.
Liberal Democrat David Limbrick said the Andrews government’s workplace vaccine mandates took the pandemic response “a step too far”, saying he would withhold his own vaccination documents and would not require other MPs to show proof of their jabs.
Mr Limbrick said the mandates posed a risk to people’s privacy, including government workers and MPs.
“We think that what they’re doing here with deciding who can and can’t participate in public life, depending on their medical status as dictated by bureaucrats, is a step way too far,” Mr Limbrick said.
“We won’t be handing over our digital vaccination certificates,” he said.
“There’s also privacy concerns on what they’re doing with members of parliament.”
Mr Limbrick said the workplace mandates posed a “massive overreach of their authority” that also invaded the privacy of workers across various sectors, including aged care.
“If someone signed up today for a job, and a new on the job description when they signed the contract, that (vaccine) was part of the deal, then we don’t have a consent issue with that,” he said.
“Where we do have a consent issue is where someone signed up for a job, this was never part of their employment contract, and now they’ve been told you have to lose your job. You have to take this procedure or lose your job.
“I think there’s a serious consent issue there.”
Mr Limbrick also called on the state government to release the Human Rights charter probes carried out to allow the workplace jab mandates.
“These assessments are meant to show the calculations that they’ve done on limitations of the rights of Victorians,” he said.
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