Lockdown extended for seven days, nine new cases
The statewide lockdown has been extended for another seven days as a new exposure site linked to Sydney removalists emerges, while Victoria has declared South Australia a “red zone”.
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Victoria’s lockdown will be extended for a further seven days until Tuesday, July 27 at 11.59pm.
In his media address, Premier Daniel Andrews said Victorians would have to work “very, very hard” to have the state begin the process of opening up at midnight next Tuesday.
“We wish we could bring this in earlier, but we can’t run the risk that there are cases out there,” he said.
Nine new locally acquired cases of coronavirus were reported in the community in the past 24 hours.
One of those new infections is under investigation, the Department of Health has revealed.
A total of 13 cases were officially added to the books on Tuesday, but four of those were announced on Monday.
At least four of the 13 new cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period.
There are 85 active local cases.
More than 49,450 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours.
Two cases were detected in hotel quarantine, bringing the total active cases in Victoria to 96.
NEW EXPOSURE SITE LINKED TO REMOVALISTS
Another exposure site has emerged in regional Victoria linked to Sydney removalists who travelled across Victoria while infectious with coronavirus.
A BP roadhouse in the western Victorian town Nhill share the news on Tuesday they were a Tier 2 site.
“Please be advised that we have just received notification from the department of health that a confirmed COVID case visited on 8th July between 10:00PM to 11:00PM,” the roadhouse’s Facebook post read.
“As a precautionary measure we have closed the site and a cleaning protocol has been initiated – we assure that so far no positive case has been identified in our staff.”
West Wimmera Health Service chief executive Ritchie Dodds confirmed the new site was linked to the removalists.
“We understand the exposure site relates to the removalists,” he said.
“We are hopeful that there is a very low chance of spread in the community.
“The next two days we will know for sure as people come forward and get tested.”
Mr Dodds said the community is “doing everything they can locally” to stop any spread of the virus.
“Fingers crossed the small window of exposure doesn’t have a large impact,” he said.
The exposure site is yet to be posted on the Department of Health’s website.
The latest infections include:
• Seven cases — three workers, two patrons and two household contacts — linked to Ms Frankie restaurant in Cremorne
• Two linked to Trinity Grammar
• Two household contacts linked to the MCG
• A member of the group that travelled to Phillip Island
• A young woman in Roxburgh Park suspected to be linked to the City of Hume outbreak
Twenty-nine cases are linked to Ms Frankie, with 840 primary close contacts linked to that cluster.
Fourteen cases are linked to the MCG, with 3800 close contacts in isolation.
There are nine cases in the Trinity Grammar outbreak, with 2500 primary contacts identified.
And a further 700 primary close contacts are in isolation after they were linked to the Phillip Island cluster.
Eleven cases are linked to the City of Hume outbreak.
Meanwhile, no new cases have been detected in Mildura over the past 24 hours.
Three infections are linked to the Wallabies match at AAMI Park, with 2100 primary close contacts in isolation.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the virus was spreading “incredibly fast” and there was “very little margin for error”.
On the decision to extend the lockdown, Mr Andrews said: “Leaving it smouldering really does mean you’ll have further outbreaks.
“We’re doing everything we possibly can to avoid that. If there was another alternative, if there was another choice we could make, we would.”
VICTORIANS IN RED ZONES SHUT OUT
Red zone arrivals into Victoria from NSW will need an exemption to enter the state for at least the next two weeks.
The tougher border measures will come into effect from 11.59pm on Tuesday.
Only people with “exceptional circumstances” will be authorised to enter the state.
Fines of $5452 may be imposed if a person is found to have entered Victoria from a red zone without a new and approved permit.
The Premier said due to the serious and persistent nature of the risk in NSW, Victoria could not continue to have hundreds of people coming to Victoria every day.
“For this reason, the chief health officer will temporarily pause the issuing of Red Zone Permits from 11.59pm on Tuesday, July 20,” Mr Andrews said.
The Premier said anyone entering Victoria from New South Wales without an exemption would be put on a return flight or placed in 14 days mandatory quarantine under the COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria (CQV) program.
“Things are too unstable, too uncertain and frankly, out of control from a virus point of view in Sydney,” Mr Andrews said.
“We need to protect Victoria and Victorians — indeed, beyond that, the rest of the nation.”
The Department of Health has also deemed South Australia a red zone.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton declared the state an orange zone, in effect retrospectively as of 11:59pm on Monday 12 July.
MORE THAN 300 EXPOSURE SITES
More commuters have been exposed to Covid, after a confirmed case caught a number of public transport routes.
An alert has been put out for the Lilydale and Belgrave line, while the route 96 tram has been declared a Tier One site between City Rd (stop 126) and Southern Cross Station (stop 122) for two trips taken on July 15.
Southern Cross Station and Blackburn Railway Station were listed as Tier Three sites, bringing the number of active public transport entries to 35.
It comes as the government urged commuters to register their Myki, so contact tracers can easily get in touch with them.
Twelve new exposure sites were added by the health department on Tuesday afternoon, bringing the total to more than 330.
The new sites span several suburbs including Derrimut, Richmond, Glen Iris, Carlton, St Kilda, Camberwell, Box Hill South, and St Kilda.
The Melbourne office of BR International Logistics has been identified as a Tier 1 exposure site on July 17, 18 and 19.
The positive case is likely to be a worker with the exposure period on Saturday stretching from 9am to 5.30pm.
Indoor fitness venues Carlton Yoga Collective & SomaChi Yoga and Genesis Health & Fitness 24/7 in Box Hill South have also been identified as Tier 1 sites.
Overhear Coffee & Food in Camberwell has been added as a Tier 2 exposure site on July 14, 15, 16 and 17, with the office of Cricket Victoria in St Kilda also identified as a Tier 2 site on July 15.
‘TOO EARLY’ TO LIFT RESTRICTIONS
Chief health officer Brett Sutton said a person who’s out in the community for any period of time had the potential to become a superspreader.
“This Delta variant can transmit to one person, it can transmit to no people, or it can transmit to 20 people,” he said.
“You have to be sure that you’ve got the response around that risk.”
Prof Sutton said this “really significant outbreak” started with two infectious cases who were just out in the community infectious for one day, so it’s crucial to be across each and every infectious case in the outbreak.
“It is too early today to lift restrictions,” he said.
“We have seen significant and standalone outbreaks in regional areas in Phillip Island, Bacchus Marsh, Barwon Heads and as far away as Mildura.
“Around a third of all of our primary close contacts are right across regional Victoria.
“Much of that is due to the superspreading events early on in this outbreak that took place in the MCC members’ reserve for the Geelong-Carlton game. It is something that brings Victorians from far and wide and back home far and wide across Victoria.
“Those impacts are rippling across the state.”
Prof Sutton said the state’s modelling showed Melbourne’s case numbers would be in single figures by the end of the extended lockdown.
He said authorities were keenly focused on the transmissions that happened at AAMI Park and the MCG.
“The tens of thousands of people attending an event is significant,” he said.
“When we get up again, we’ll have hundreds of thousands of people visiting each other’s homes out in the community, visiting restaurants and various events, so the multiplying event there is significant.
“We need to be sure that the risk mitigation that we have in place across the state for all of the events and interactions is as strong as it possibly can be.”
For sporting events, Prof Sutton said that would be about compartmentalising people in zones very strongly so authorities could contact trace a reasonable and manageable number within zones.
“We will keep looking at it. I don’t know that that means that we can’t get to big crowds but we can’t guarantee anything yet.”
Professor Sutton said the lockdown extension was reviewed every day.
“There’ll be new information that we have through the course of today, through tomorrow,” he said.
He added that Tuesday’s mystery case had no bearing on his decision to extend the lockdown.
“If there hadn’t been that mystery case, my advice would’ve still been seven days,” he said.
Prof Sutton said there had been more than 10,000 permit applications to enter Victoria.
“There may well be hundreds, if not thousands, remaining. Some of those will want to see it out and are happy — obviously, they have been given weeks and weeks of notice about the opportunity to return to Victoria — so I imagine there isn’t a great urgency for them.
“Circumstances change for people. That is what the exemptions process is for.”
PAIN MOUNTS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
The Victorian government is set to announce further payments and support for businesses struggling through the lockdown.
However, many small businesses will not survive the latest lockdown extension according to Australian Retail Association CEO Paul Zahra.
“The financial pain continues to mount for small businesses who were already struggling before these latest outbreaks.
“The hopes for survival for many are quickly fading without adequate support measures in place,” he says.
“More than $8 billion worth of retail trade is now at risk nationally with the Covid lockdown in Victoria extended for another seven days, mounting the pressure on small businesses who are struggling for survival without an adequate safety net like JobKeeper.”
Mr Zahra says businesses need the return of an effective support scheme like JobKeeper to ensure they can stay afloat and connected to their employees.
“Whilst the existing federal Covid disaster payments are certainly welcomed, they fall short of a liveable income and the arrangements that were in place under the first phase of JobKeeper,” he says.
“This, along with the Leasing Code of Conduct, were major factors keeping businesses alive through the initial phase of the pandemic. We need to see these valuable measures return urgently with the Delta variant causing so much disruption to people’s lives and businesses.”
Chapel Street Precinct General Manager Chrissie Maus says many businesses have had to make drastic budget cuts just to survive the last 15 months, including reduced salaries and staff redundancies.
“Our business owners feel like trapeze artists performing at the Victorian Government’s Circus without a safety net,” she says.
“Many traders missed out last time, so Dan Andrew’s announcement that the same support will be provided to the same businesses, yet again, is a massive slap in the face to business owners who are left high and dry due to yet another snap lockdown.”
NEW QLD CASE CAME FROM VICTORIA
Queensland’s one locally acquired case reported on Tuesday was a diner at Young & Jackson pub in Melbourne’s CBD — which became a Tier 1 exposure site on July 10.
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeanette Young said the female, who is studying in Melbourne, received a text from DHHS on July 15 because she visited the pub at the same time as the infected man from Maribyrnong’s Ariele Apartments.
“She then immediately went and got tested and she tested negative,” Dr Young said.
The fully vaccinated student, in her 20s, travelled back home to Queensland for the holidays, visiting Maroochydore before catching a flight to Cairns.
She tested positive on Monday, after she presented with symptoms on Sunday.
Dr Young said the fact she had been vaccinated reduces the risk but does not remove the risk of transmission in the community.
VICTORIA ‘NOT READY’ FOR RULES TO EASE
On Monday, Mr Andrews said Victoria risked “a few days of sunshine” but weeks of pain if it emerged from lockdown too early, warning the state was not “ready” for restrictions to ease.
It came as the Premier launched his strongest attack on NSW, implying the state that seeded Victoria’s latest outbreak and recorded 98 new cases on Monday was putting the nation at risk.
“As soon as they (NSW) get it under control, it takes a lot of pressure off us and Adelaide and Brisbane and the whole country,” Mr Andrews said, adding that the outbreak “has to be pulled up in Sydney”.
Contact tracers were desperately try to keep pace with the rapid spread of Victoria’s Delta outbreak, with 16 new local infections announced on Monday and more than 15,000 close contacts.
“Knowing what we know now, lockdown was the right course, which was the right call at the right time,” Mr Andrews said.
He said the state had avoided “weeks and weeks” of lockdown, but opening up as planned would see cases spike.
“It would be perhaps a few days of sunshine and then a very high chance of being back in lockdown again,” he said.
“(If we had have been opened) we would be just like Sydney (and) we wouldn’t be looking at a short lockdown, we’d be looking at something entirely different. What we know with Delta is an hour is like a day and day is like a week in some ways. It is moving so fast. If it is smouldering then it will run again, it will take off again.”
Chief health officer Brett Sutton said there was “no absolute guarantee” that Victoria could defeat the Delta variant.
“These are awful and difficult decisions but we cannot pretend that it’s simply a choice of locking down or not worrying about it,” he said.
Only one of Victoria’s five lockdowns – collectively now into their 178th day – has ended as initially planned.
Key business representatives say traders are crying out for a reprieve, with many fearing the latest shutdown will be the final nail in the coffin.
Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang said Australia’s policy “obsession” to eradicate the virus would also eliminate thousands of businesses.
“We’ve been inundated with calls from emotionally broken business owners, many who are telling us they cannot go on,” Mr Lang said.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Paul Guerra said more financial support was desperately needed to see businesses through the latest period of uncertainty.
“If we’re going to ask businesses to keep shutting down to stop the spread, we need to make sure that businesses are compensated accordingly,” Mr Guerra said.
“If we’re going to extend beyond the five days, there needs to be more money available for businesses because the costs keep mounting up.”
Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani said operators had become all too familiar with the lockdown cycle.
“The recovery is slow and it takes weeks and months to get back to the point prior to lockdown,” Ms Mariani said.
“People have just reached the end.”
Meanwhile, South Australia announced new restrictions on Monday after recording two local cases – a man who returned home after quarantining in a Sydney hotel and his daughter.
Map shows why lockdown can’t end
LOCKDOWN FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA
South Australia has recorded a new locally acquired Covid-19 case on Tuesday as the state gets set to enter a full lockdown from 6pm.
Read the full story here
NSW CASES DROP BUT STATE ON ALERT
NSW recorded a drop in Covid infections, with 78 new local cases overnight.
But worryingly, 27 of those new cases were infectious in the community.
Read the full story here
STADIUM PHOTO SHOWS HOW DELTA SPREAD
Large crowds at AFL matches and other major events are under review amid concerns about the spread of Covid’s Delta strain at stadiums.
Health authorities are alarmed over “game changer” infections at AAMI Park, which hosted last Tuesday night’s Wallabies rugby match, and at the MCG on July 10.
There are concerns Delta’s spread cannot be limited by measures such as empty seats separating groups of spectators.
It is understood that authorities are also furious over crowd control at AAMI Park, which saw hundreds crammed together outside Gate 7 – where the virus is believed to have spread between fans.
Read the full story here.
CRITICAL WORKERS WHO COULD GET COVID NEXT
Airport and hotel staff, taxi drivers and the Australian Border Force are some of the workers with the highest potential exposure to Covid-19, but the lowest rates of vaccination, it can be revealed.
An investigation into jab rates in the Australian workforce shows just 43 per cent of aged care workers are fully vaccinated, while among airport workers the proportion is 33 per cent and for the marine unit of the Australian Border Force the numbers drop to 25 per cent.
While vaccination rates are tracked through age, sex and location, there are no government records for how many people in different industries have been immunised against Covid-19, which means even for essential workers such as teachers, pharmacists, childcare workers and GPs, there is no way of knowing how many of them have had one dose of vaccine, two doses, or no doses at all.
Read the full story here.
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