North Richmond supervised injecting room has positive COVID-19 cases after concerns by residents
Positive COVID-19 cases have been reported at the North Richmond supervised facility, just days after residents witnessed drug users flouting lockdown laws in the area.
Victoria
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The supervised injecting room in North Richmond has reported positive cases of COVID-19 just weeks after residents voiced their anger at drug users flouting the rules.
The injection room has recorded two positive cases of COVID-19 in the past fortnight forcing the centre to temporarily close and undergo a deep clean on both occasions.
The Department of Health and Human Services was notified of the first case on August 10, and then a second positive case was reported on August 17.
Mental Health Minister Martin Foley said the health facility would remain open during the stage 4 lockdown despite previous concerns by nearby residents those attending the centre were breaking social distancing rules and the city’s 8pm curfew.
“The supervised injecting room is a health facility and remains open so it can continue to save lives,” he said.
“The facility plays an important role in slowing the spread of coronavirus in the North Richmond community as many of its clients would not otherwise have access to screening, testing, face masks and important public health messages.”
At a Yarra Council meeting last week it heard there are up to 300 people a day are flocking to the centre from outside the centre’s 5km radius.
Under the rules Melburnians are only allowed to travel within 5km of their home for essential services, however this does not apply to those seeking medical assistance, for instance visiting the injecting room.
Concerns by North Richmond residents were raised earlier this month after seeing people hover around nearby streets not wearing masks or social distancing, gathering in groups and injecting themselves with heroin.
The centre remains open past Melbourne’s 8pm curfew, closing at 9pm on weeknights which also caused angst among some residents.
North Richmond resident, Sharon, 55, said the COVID-19 cases at the centre were “like a bomb waiting to go off”.
“Residents are concerned because of the lack of mask wearing around the area and the lack of social distancing, users are walking past our homes and children day in day out,” she said.
“It’s only a matter of time before it reaches one of us and we are all trying to do the right thing.”
Sharon said syringes had also been left discarded in the streets during the pandemic and many drug users were “just having a good time”.
Liberal MP Craig Ondarchie criticised the injecting room and said the state government should have notified the public of the cases at the centre, like they do when there is an outbreak at schools or other public centres such as supermarkets.
“Dan (Andrews) has one set of rules for his pet project in Richmond and he needs to come clean about why he applies a set of rules for everybody else,” he said.
“There’s strong evidence that people around there are not following the rules and people are hanging out without proper protection and social distancing.”
The DHHS and Victoria Police have been working closely with the injecting room facility to ensure public health directions are being followed.
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