Exposure sites added; new cases linked to Arcare Maidstone nursing home
More hot spots have been added to Victoria’s list of exposure sites, while another testing blitz is underway at a Maidstone nursing home after a resident and nurse were infected with Covid.
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A handful of exposure sites has been announced, including a busy construction site in Melbourne CBD.
A Probuild work site was added on Sunday afternoon after a cleaner tested positive for Covid-19.
Anyone who visited the site at 100 Queen Street on between May 30 to June 3 (inclusive) between 7am and 4pm or on June 4 between 7am and 12.30pm must get tested and self-isolate for 14 days.
Other new exposure sites include a fried chicken joint and petrol station.
Anyone who visited Chick Chick (Fried Chicken) on Puckle St in Moonee Ponds between 3.10 and 3.40pm on May 30 needs to get tested urgently and isolate until they receive a negative result.
In Mickleham, Everyday by BP x David Jones Food Merrifield at 470 Donnybrook Rd is also a tier two exposure site after a confirmed case visited between 5.40pm and 6.10pm on May 30.
Two new Covid cases have been linked to the Arcare Maidstone outbreak, with a 79-year old resident among those infected.
Arcare chief Colin Singh said the resident lives in proximity to the first two residents
diagnosed with Covid.
The second case is an agency registered nurse who last worked at the aged care centre on Saturday.
The resident previously received both doses of the Pfizer jab, while the nurse only had her first dose of the Covid vaccine.
Both are asymptomatic but the resident will be transferred to hospital.
All workers who were at the residence on Saturday will now have to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days.
Mr Singh said Arcare continued to encourage all workers to get the Covid vaccine and moved to reassure the loved ones of residents.
“Further testing will take place tomorrow, with the indication that it will occur every two days while we manage this outbreak,” he said.
“Our team at Arcare Maidstone is doing everything possible to bring this outbreak under control and is continuing to work closely with the Public Health Unit and follow its advice.
“The wellbeing of residents and team members is our foremost priority.
“We have implemented measures to keep residents engaged during lockdown and continue to support our team members during this difficult time.”
It comes as two other Victorians tested positive to Covid overnight, raising the active community transmissions to 72. Six new infections were also recorded in hotel quarantine.
And more than 1900 close contacts will be released from quarantine on Sunday as the danger of the initial Whittlesea Covid-19 outbreak eased significantly.
However, the emergency of a separate threat from a new West Melbourne outbreak involving the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant has seen lockdown restrictions remain.
Although the initial cases that sparked the current lockdown remain a mystery, Victoria’s deputy chief health officer Professor Allen Cheng said extensive testing and the fact three weeks had since passed were easing concerns they were spreading undetected.
The increasing comfort that the “downstream” risk from the initial Whittlesea and Port Melbourne clusters was fading was evidenced by the expected release of 1900 close contacts after their 14-quarantine periods today Sunday.
However, Prof Cheng said the “upstream” risks of the recently discovered West Melbourne cluster — which has been generated by a mystery case of the more infectious Delta coronavirus variant — was now the primary concern.
“We are somewhat concerned about the upstream (risks),” he said. “For these cases that we can’t find who gave them the infection, particularly the family who returned from Jervis Bay, we are concerned about who was it that might have given them the infection and therefore could there be other infections related to that,” Prof Cheng said.
“I think it would be fair to say that given 5 per cent of Victorians have been tested in the last seven days, if there was a big outbreak going on, I think we would expect to have picked it up.
“But there is always that risk and that risk does fall over time, but we are still concerned over that and that is where all our efforts are going.“
Health investigators are continuing the search for answers into where the Delta strain has come from, trawling through historic genetic sequencing results from labs across the country hoping for even a partial match.
The West Melbourne outbreak has grown to 10 cases infected with the Delta variant after another was confirmed overnight on Saturday.
In more promising news, 98 per cent of those people tested from a primary school considered a Tier 1 exposure site have returned negative coronavirus test results, though they will have to remain in quarantine.
The Port Melbourne cluster, focused on a finance company cluster, has risen to 30 cases after a newly detected case, as well as evidence linking four previous mystery cases.
‘SENSE OF URGENCY’ IN VAX PUSH
Authorities once again urged eligible Victorians to get the Covid vaccination, saying younger Victorians had a role to play in herd immunity.
“People in nursing homes do not have many contacts in the community. They do not contribute much to that herd immunity,” Prof Cheng said.
“But people who are younger are much more social, and have many more interactions.”
Despite Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s previous messaging that the vaccination rollout was “not a race”, Prof Cheng said Victorians should not wait to get vaccinated.
“There is a sense of urgency, we cannot hold this forever,” he said.
“If you look at other countries, particularly in our region, they are having to go back into lockdown. And it’s a dam wall that is straining, it is a difficult one to hold back.”
Hundreds of thousands of extra vaccine doses will be sent to Victoria this month to keep up with surging demand for the jab amid the state’s latest Covid-19 outbreak.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said an extra 100,000 Pfizer doses would be provided to the state government over three weeks from June 14.
And GPs will also have their AstraZeneca deliveries doubled over the next fortnight from 115,000 a week to 235,000 a week.
Businesses are being urged to campaign for staff to get vaccinated amid warnings three-quarters of the state needs the jab before large scale lockdowns end.
Read the full story here.
‘UNEXPECTED’ VIRUS FOUND IN SUBURBS
Viral fragments have been detected in a wastewater sample retrieved from catchments serving suburbs in Melbourne’s inner west and north.
This detection is “of interest” to the health department, with no confirmed Covid-19 cases in those suburbs.
However, the catchment area contains exposure sites and is near to West Melbourne, where the Delta cluster has emerged. There are currently 10 infections in that outbreak.
Residents of and recent visitors to the suburbs of Aberfeldie, Essendon, Essendon West, Flemington, Footscray, Kensington, Maribyrnong, Moonee Ponds, Parkville and Travancore are urged to get tested if they develop any symptoms.
“The wastewater testing program is designed as an early warning system to support our ongoing efforts in continuing to protect the COVIDSafe environment, therefore a cautious approach is always taken when these detections are found,” a DHHS statement read.
“The Department of Health has increased wastewater testing in the area and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
“The unexpected detection may be due to someone who has had Covid-19 that is no longer infectious continuing to ‘shed’ the virus or it may be due to an active but undiagnosed infectious case.”
GOVT RESPONDS TO MOVE TO POACH GRAND FINAL
Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula says he is not surprised another city wants to poach the Grand Final — but he expects to watch the game at the MCG.
Perth Stadium will look to pull off an AFL grand final heist if Victoria’s repeated inability to control coronavirus threatens the return of 100,000 fans to the MCG on September 25.
Saturday night’s Dreamtime sellout at Western Australia’s dazzling 60,000-seat stadium showed what the $1.6 billion precinct on the banks of the Swan River can pull off at short notice.
Losing football’s biggest day for a second-straight season would be another kick in the guts for Victorians, who have endured more pandemic pain than every other state combined.
Read the full story here.
MORE TRAVEL VOUCHERS ANNOUNCED
Another package of travel vouchers was on Sunday announced to help aid struggling tourism providers, with a further 80,000 vouchers to be released.
A fourth round of the popular regional travel vouchers is set to include 10,000 new vouchers and 70,000 previously allocated vouchers, which were unclaimed.
The state government is yet to announce release dates or travel windows for the vouchers.
Mr Merlino announced a $32.2 million package on Sunday to support the tourism industry, including $16 million for regional tourism vouchers.
A further $11.8 million will be spent on $4500 payments to businesses, resulting in all Victorian tourism operators receiving a total of $7000 in support during the snap lockdown.
The government has also implemented a $4.4 million package for ski and mountain operators after Melbourne was warned restrictions would still apply over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, which is also marks the traditional start to Australia’s ski season.
The $32.2 million Regional Tourism Support Package will also provide accommodation, attraction and experience providers with grant top-ups worth up to $4500 per business.
Travel-starved Victorians snapped up 160,000 regional travel vouchers during the first three rounds of the regional travel voucher scheme, along with 40,000 for a Melbourne scheme.
More than 88,000 regional vouchers have been claimed to date, with those travellers injecting an estimated $130 million into local economies.
Industry leader Felicia Mariani praised the package for acknowledging the “shattering” impact of long-weekend lockdowns but said more was needed, with a road map to reopening at the top of her list.
“Overall, I think it was a welcome announcement today from Minister Pakula,” the Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief said.
“The $4.4m for the Alpine Support Program is critically urgent for our ski industry as they are really suffering by losing the start of yet another critical season.
“It was also encouraging to see a further 80,000 $200 vouchers have been included in the package but the eligibility will need to wait until we know when travel restrictions lift.
“But what we really need to see is an expedited road map to reopening which will set us on a strong course to return to the operating environment we had prior to this lockdown.”
Ms Mariani warned a protracted reopening would be the final straw for businesses barely hanging on.
She said it was important to not only focus on the regions with Melbourne’s greater reliance on interstate and international visitors leaving them more vulnerable to restrictions.
“The $11.8m of the tourism supplement that provides additional funding to both metropolitan Melbourne as well as regional Victoria was a welcome recognition of the pain the industry is feeling,” she said.
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