Fresh virus warning for Melbourne suburbs as state records two new Covid cases

Residents in a dozen Melbourne suburbs have been told to stay alert for Covid symptoms with fragments of the virus found in wastewater across the city.

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Victoria has recorded two new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Friday.

The state’s health department announced three new local infections, but one case was previously revealed on Thursday.

That case was detected in Gippsland on Thursday, but chief health officer Brett Sutton said they had been in quarantine during their entire infectious period.

One of the cases is a household contact of a Bacchus Marsh Grammar student, one is a staff member at Trinity Grammar and the third lives at the ARK Apartment Complex in Richmond which is locked down.

The health department also confirmed all of the new local cases were all in isolation for 100 per cent of their infectious period.

It comes as a dozen Melbourne suburbs were given a fresh virus warning, with Covid fragments found in their wastewater.

Pedestrians cross Flinders Street as Melbourne reopens after another COVID-19 lockdown. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

The suburbs are: Albanvale, Burnside, Burnside Heights, Caroline Springs, Deer Park, Hillside in Melton, Keilor Downs, Kings Park, Plumpton, Sydenham, Taylors Hill and Taylors Lakes.

Residents in the affected areas have been urged to monitor for coronavirus symptoms and getting tested immediately if they develop.

Health authorities also remain concerned about suburbs in the Camberwell catchment, including Balwyn, Camberwell, Canterbury, Mont Albert and Surrey Hills.

There have been two positive detections in the wastewater across different dates.

“The wastewater detection may be due to someone who has had Covid-19, is no longer infectious and is continuing to shed the virus – or it may be due to an active but undiagnosed case in that area,” chief health officer Brett Sutton said.

Deputy secretary Kate Matson said she wouldn’t speculate as to who the fragments might be linked to.

“We are issuing communications to any red zone returnees, as well as primary close contacts in that catchment,” she said.

STATE SETS STANDARD ON HOW TO HANDLE DELTA VARIANT

Victoria’s short, hard lockdown is being heralded as exemplary for tackling the ­infectious Delta strain and could become the model for future outbreaks.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the ­nation had learnt a lot over the past eight weeks, as the tough restrictions helped curb the state’s latest outbreak.

Meanwhile, it was revealed a mystery case of a man in his 20s who worked at the ­Moonee Valley racecourse testing site was not vaccinated, despite being eligible.

Victoria endured its fifth lockdown to beat the Delta strain. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Leaders at Friday’s national cabinet meeting will discuss how the approach could be used for future lockdowns ­involving the Delta strain.

“That is the model we’re going to have to follow,” Mr Morrison said of Victoria.

The Department of Health was on Thursday unsure how Victoria’s mystery case contracted the virus, as it locked down an apartment complex in Newport visited by the man while infectious.

Health officials are considering whether he picked up the virus at work, with a number of people who visited the site later testing positive.

But acting chief health officer Ben Cowie said the likelihood of transmission was low given the man was not in “direct contact” with potentially infectious people.

Genomic sequencing on Thursday confirmed the mystery case was linked to the current outbreak.

Professor Cowie said the mystery case was unlikely to affect the state’s restrictions.

“Covid-19 is in our community still. That’s why we are taking those slow steps back for this exact reason,” he said.

“There will be further cases that pop up in coming weeks and months. There will also be further incursions.

“We need to be prepared for that, so I don’t see any reason why in the short-term our restrictions will change on the basis of this individual case.”

It was revealed the man in his 20s was unvaccinated, despite having been eligible for the jab since February.

Health department staff arrive at an apartment in Newport. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

All testing centre employees are eligible for the jab because they are deemed frontline healthcare workers, but it is not mandatory.

“This outbreak has shown us that everybody who can get vaccinated should get vaccinated. This is such a fundamental part of our own protection,” Prof Cowie said.

Contact tracers found that the positive case visited his partner – who has since tested negative – at a low-rise apartment complex in Newport.

The man’s family members and close social contacts also tested negative, but the Newport complex on Mason Street remains shut down as a precaution. A decision has not been made on if it will be shut down for a full 14 days.

The Moonee Valley racecourse test site will also remain closed over the coming days while a deep clean takes place.

The state recorded six additional local cases – all linked to known outbreaks and who had been in isolation throughout their infectious period.

Another infection on the Bass Coast, who was in quarantine while infectious, will appear in Friday’s case numbers.

Four of the new cases were Bacchus Marsh Grammar students, while two were household contacts of a positive case at the Lacrosse apartment building in Docklands.

NSW recorded its worst day since the pandemic began, with 239 new Covid cases including 70 infectious in the community.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian called in 300 Australian Defence Force personnel, and tightened restrictions for eight high-risk local government areas in Sydney. Residents in these areas must wear masks at all times and cannot travel further than 5km from home.

INSIDE LOCKED-DOWN HAWTHORN APARTMENTS

Part of an apartment complex in Hawthorn has been plunged into a 14-day quarantine, after a risk assessment determined the site posed a high risk.

An operations site was set up at the apartment complex on Thursday, according to notices taped to the complex’s front doors, and will remain there for two weeks.

Health Department staff will be there daily from 1pm to 5pm to “support residents who may have been exposed to Covid-19 and are isolating”.

The apartment complex has multiple entrances, meaning residents were subject to different advice based on where their apartment is and some don’t need to isolate.

The majority of entrances had posters telling the residents not to “be alarmed”.

Part of this apartment block in Hawthorn have gone into lockdown due to a COVID exposure. Picture David Crosling via NCA NewsWire

“There is no risk to any other residents in the complex and no action is required,” it read.

“Residents in buildings on Robinsons Rd and Inverleith St are not affected.”

However residents of the stairwell block of 190 Riversdale Rd have been declared tier two contacts, according to a sign taped to their door.

“A confirmed case of Covid-19 has been found within the apartment complex,” the poster read.

“This means that the 190 Riversdale Rd block is currently classified as a Tier 2 exposure site.”

Those residents must get tested and isolate until receiving a negative result.

Parts of the complex are having construction work done, but work appears to be confined to an area not required to isolate.

The government is expected to release more details at this morning’s press conference.

The North Eastern Public Health Unit is managing the site.

SCARY TRUTH BEHIND VICTORIAN MAN’S ICU ADMISSION

A Barwon Heads man was strong, fit and healthy before he was admitted to intensive care with Covid, his family says.

The man, a Bacchus Marsh Grammar teacher aged in his 50s, was hospitalised more than a week ago, and remained in the ICU in a critical but stable condition on Thursday.

Three others from the household, understood to be the man’s 9-year-old son and parents-in-law, also contracted Covid earlier this month.

His mother-in-law posted to Facebook on Wednesday that the hospitalised man was “getting a little better every day” but was likely to be in ICU for several more days.

Read the full version of this story, here.

COVID CHAOS HITS QUEENSLAND

A 17-year-old student has become the latest Queenslander to test positive to Covid-19.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the sole community case of the virus, announced on Friday, was of “extreme concern”.

“This is an unknown, unlinked case,” she said.

The Indooroopilly State High School student fell ill on Thursday and went and got tested.

Her family are now being tested and the school has been closed for 48 hours so contact tracers can get on top of the spread.

Genomic sequencing is yet to determine what strain of the virus she has and how she got it.

At this stage it’s not believed the family have travelled overseas.

Read the full version of this story, here.