Encouraging sign in Victorian Covid outbreak as all new cases linked

Melburnians have received some positive news about Sunday’s cases in an encouraging sign tracers are getting on top of the outbreak.

All of Victoria’s new locally acquired coronavirus cases have been linked to the existing outbreaks.

In an encouraging sign health authorities are getting on top of the latest cluster that sent the state back into to lockdown, Acting Premier James Merlino said both new cases on Sunday were known primary close contacts.

“That is a good thing,” he said on Sunday morning.

“One new case is another employee of the Port Melbourne finance company in their 50s who has been isolating for the entirety of their infectious period.

People queue for Covid vaccination at Sandown Racecourse on Saturday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

“The other new case is a teacher from a primary school linked to the West Melbourne outbreak.”

Victorian health officials confirmed two new positive local cases of Covid-19 on Sunday morning.

It was later revealed that two new cases had also been recorded at Arcare Maidstone, which takes the number of active cases linked to the outbreak to 72, with two people also recovered.

Arcare chief executive Colin Singh confirmed the two new cases at the company’s Maidstone facility in Melbourne’s inner west in a media statement on Sunday morning.

He said one was a 79-year-old resident who lived near the first two residents diagnosed, while the second was an agency nurse who last worked at the facility on Saturday.

Mr Singh said both patients were asymptomatic. The 79-year-old had been fully vaccinated, while the nurse had received her first dose.

Deputy chief health officer Allen Cheng said there were no new cases linked to the Whittlesea outbreak, which remains at 29, while five more cases have been linked to the Port Melbourne workplace cluster, which now stands at 30.

Deputy chief health officer Allen Cheng said more than 1900 people would be released from quarantine on Sunday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

“Four of these are previously unlinked cases that have been linked through genomic and epidemiological investigations,” Professor Cheng said.

“There is one new case associated with the outbreak that is linked to the Port Melbourne finance company, and has been in quarantine during the entire infectious period.

“The West Melbourne outbreak, associated with the Delta outbreak has one new case, bringing total to 10.

“We still have more than 6000 personal primary close contacts in quarantine but as we get further into this outbreak some of these people are reaching the end of their quarantine period, and have tested negative, so we expect to release more than 1900 people from quarantine (on Sunday).”

Professor Cheng urged anyone who had shopped regularly at Craigieburn Central or Epping Plaza shopping centres to come forward and get tested, as both remained particular sites of concern.

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