Victoria records 22 new local Covid-19 cases as lockdown extended by a week

Victoria’s Health Minister has detailed why Victoria is on track to beat the latest outbreak, despite recording its highest spike in cases.

Victoria has recorded 22 new locally acquired Covid-19 infections on Wednesday, a spike from the previous 24 hours.

The state’s health department confirmed the new local virus cases about 8.45am but in a positive sign for the state’s lockdown, they said all 22 were linked to existing outbreaks that have stemmed from NSW.

Health Minister Martin Foley said 16 of the 22 cases were in quarantine during their entire infectious period.

‘There is no community exposure sites for 16 of those 22 cases, and of the remaining six, their exposure sites are reasonably low due to the current lockdown,” he said.

“That is also something that should give us all a degree of confidence and hope that this response that we’re now into is working.”

More Covid-19 cases are now isolating before they test positive. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Darren Seiler

Two days ago, only 6 per cent of new daily cases were fully isolating in quarantine during their period of infectivity, Mr Foley said. Now it is 73 per cent.

“This means our contact tracers and our restrictions are working in tandem as part of the public health team’s tool kit to beat this virus back and to beat this outbreak back, step by step,” Mr Foley said.

Victoria has now recorded 107 cases linked to the two outbreaks that jumped the border from Sydney’s deadly Delta cluster – one from a team of Sydney removalists that transited through the state and the other a family that returned to Melbourne’s north from a NSW red zone.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton said the 22 new cases were linked to the following clusters:

• Five linked to Trinity Grammar – one staff member, two students and an additional two household members
• Five linked to Ms Frankie cafe – two staff, one patron who visited on July 15, and two household contacts
• Three linked to the Young and Jacksons pub
• Three linked to St Patrick’s College in Murrumbeena – two students and one household contact.
• Two linked to AAMI Park – both patrons seated within two to three rows of the index case
• Two linked to Bacchus Marsh Grammar – both household contacts
• One is a worker from the West Gate tunnel who was a close work contact
• The final case was a family member of the previously unlinked case announced on Tuesday from the northern suburbs.

Professor Sutton said the previously unlinked case – a woman aged in her 20s from Melbourne’s north – had been formally linked by epidemiologists to the Coolaroo cluster.

Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton said there was concern over the two AAMI Park cases. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

He said there were 3900 primary close contacts associated to the MCG, with 70 per cent of tests returned, 2300 associated with AAMI Park with 66 per cent returned, 2600 associated to Trinity Grammar with 76 per cent returned, 433 associated to Crafty Squire pub with 70 per cent returned, 822 associated to Ms Frankie cafe with 83 per cent of tests returned and 803 associated to Phillip Island with 57 per cent returned.

Professor Sutton said the two additional two cases at AAMI Park were a concern for health officials.

“Outdoor transmission, not seated absolutely adjacent to the index case but a couple of rows away – that’s not unheard of in indoor areas but to occur outdoors is of some concern,” he said.

The news comes after Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews extended the state’s fifth lockdown by another seven days until 11.59pm on July 27.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the lockdown extension. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

“There are chains of transmission that are not yet contained,” he said.

“So far, the strategy is unfolding exactly the way that we would like it to unfold, but we have had a couple of superspreader events, whether they are technically termed that, but we’ve had a couple of transmission events where large numbers of people have finished up positive as a result of being in the proximity, being close to others for a very short period of time.”

Health authorities also confirmed there was one new case in hotel quarantine, with the number of active cases in Victoria at 118 — up from 96 on Monday.