Somerville Village Meats not involved in coronavirus cases linked to a cluster reported at a similar business
A case of mistaken identity with linked coronavirus cases has put the spotlight on a popular Mornington Peninsula butcher, with angry locals saying the mix-up could “ruin” their village.
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Loyal customers have jumped in to defend a Somerville butcher after his business was mistakenly linked to a coronavirus outbreak.
The DHHS reported on Sunday that 11 cases had been linked to been linked to “Somerville Meats”.
The cases are linked to Somerville Retail Services (SRS) in Tottenham, in Melbourne’s west, but several media outlets ran with the DHHS release.
The SRS website describes the businesses as one of Australia’s largest processors of retail ready meat and lists Coles as a client.
Somerville Village Meats is a popular butcher on the Mornington Peninsula, 75km from Tottenham.
The similarity of the two business names has customers and locals worried.
One woman posted to Facebook that the mix up could “ruin Somerville”.
Paul Mercurio, who runs Meat Masterclass with the business, said while Somerville Village Meat had a strong and loyal customer base “no one wanted to be linked to a coronavirus outbreak”.
“People hear corona and they start freaking out,” Mr Mercurio said.
He said Somerville Village Meat sourced all its product from a Gippsland abattoir.
“It’s beautiful meat, and one of the reasons why Somerville Village Meats is so popular,” he said.
Somerville Village Meats remains open and is offering free home delivery for Mornington Peninsula customers with orders over $40.
Mr Mercurio, who first rose to fame as the star of the film Strictly Ballroom, said he hoped to resume the meat masterclasses as soon as the lockdown restrictions allowed.
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