Major coronavirus testing blitz to target Melbourne’s 10 worst-hit suburbs over the next 10 days

With Melbourne on “a knife’s edge”, authorities will flood 10 hotspot suburbs in a massive testing blitz, in hopes of tackling the latest surge.

Health authorities in Melbourne will today begin a coronavirus testing blitz across 10 suburbs, in a bid to get on top of the worrying surge in new infections.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the capital is “on a knife’s edge” as a result of the spike over the past week, with 33 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours alone.

Thousands of healthcare workers will go door-to-door in COVID-19 hotspot areas over the coming 10 days in what Mr Andrews described as a “suburban testing blitz”.

The mammoth effort begins today in the hard-hit suburbs of Keilor Downs and Broadmeadows.

Mr Andrews said authorities would aim to test at least half the residents in those suburbs.

“Those two suburbs, with the highest number of community transmission cases, we will test 50 per cent of those suburbs over the next three days,” he said.

Authorities will then continue the blitz in eight more suburbs.

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A massive testing blitz will begin in Melbourne today, targeting 10 outbreak hotspot suburbs. Picture: Getty Images

ALL 10 SUBURBS IN THE TESTING BLITZ ARE:

• Keilor Downs

• Broadmeadows

• Maidstone

• Sunshine West

• Albanvale

• Hallam

• Brunswick West

• Reservoir

• Pakenham

• Fawkner

“There will literally be hundreds and hundreds – indeed, the entire team is a thousand-strong – doorknockers out there, talking to the community, inviting them to come and get a free test, whether they be symptomatic or asymptomatic,” Mr Andrews said.

“That will be done in lots of new ways. For instance, we have ambulances and other vans that will literally be at the end of people’s streets.

“So, they will be invited to come and get a test, and they’ll only have to travel 50m or 100m in order to complete that test.”

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews addresses the media about the state’s new surge in coronavirus cases. Picture: AAP

A total of 20,304 people were tested yesterday, which is a record.

Case numbers will inevitably grow in coming days as the escalated testing efforts are carried out, the Premier warned.

“That will be a measure of the work that we’re doing, a measure of the success of this strategy,” he said.

“Now, we might all be very pleasantly surprised – test literally entire suburbs and not get many positive cases.

“That would be a great problem to have. But I am indicating to you, I think that we will see more cases, and that’s exactly why we’re doing this testing.

“To get to the bottom of how much virus is out there, to take direct action with those families, with those people that have tested positive, to keep them in their homes, and to make sure that they’re not spreading the virus to anybody else.”

Meanwhile, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard called on Melbourne residents from the COVID-19 hot spots to refrain from attending major events in NSW including AFL and NRL games until the recent spike in COVID-19 cases ends.