Coronavirus: Where Victoria’s 300 new cases and seven deaths are linked to
The coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen in Victoria with infections raging at one popular meat processing plant.
The entire workforce at a popular Bertocchi factory is under threat of becoming infected after an outbreak at the Thomastown plant grew from 10 to 57 cases overnight.
It’s also high stakes at the Australian Lamb Factory in Colac where infections increased from 29 to 43 in the past 24 hours.
The new details come after Premier Daniel Andrews announced another 300 new coronavirus cases on Friday morning, bringing the state’s total to 7405.
Seven more Victorians died overnight, bringing the state’s death toll to 55.
Six were connected to aged care facilities, where at least five homes are dealing with an outbreak of 30 cases and more.
AGED CARE OUTBREAKS
- 73 cases at St Basil’s Homes for the Aged, Fawkner
- 68 cases at Estia Health, Ardeer
- 37 cases at Arcare Aged Care, Craigieburn
- 35 cases at Estia Health, Heidelberg
- 44 cases at Glendale Aged care facility, Werribee
- 20 cases at Regis Aged Care, Brighton
There are new cases linked to the following aged care facilities: Outlook Gardens in Dandenong North; BlueCross Riverlea in Avondale Heights; Villa Maria Catholic Homes St Bernadette’s Aged Care Residence in Sunshine North; Fronditha Care in St Albans; and Japara Yarra West in Yarraville.
OTHER KNOWN OUTBREAKS
- 74 cases at Somerville Retail Services, Tottenham
- 62 cases at JBS, Brooklyn
- 57 cases at Bertocchi Smallgoods, Thomastown
- 43 cases at Australian Lamb Company, Colac
- 11 cases at Respite Services Australia, Moonee Ponds
- 9 cases at AMSSA, North Melbourne
- 6 cases at Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre
- 3 cases at Diamond Valley Pork, Laverton North
- 3 cases at Sims Metal Management, Brooklyn
- 2 cases at Don KR Castlemaine
The number of active cases in the state has ballooned to 3734, with 206 of those in hospital, including 41 in intensive care.
Only 51 of the new cases were connected to known and contained outbreaks, while 249 remained under investigation.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said 24,118 tests were completed in the past 24 hours, bring the total since January 1 to 1.43 million.
Mr Andrews said although fewer new cases were recorded than the previous two days, there was no indication that Victoria had turned a corner yet.
“It’s best that we simply note the number is a lower number than it was yesterday, but no one should be moving towards trying to provide definitive commentary that we have turned corners or we are at a peak or any of that,” he said.
“Ultimately, it is in our hands, all of us. If we follow the rules, if we do the right thing, if we make the powerful contributions, large and small, it’s often very simple things can make a big difference to the spread of the virus.”
The Premier said he was encouraged to see so many people across Melbourne wearing masks since the new measures came into force on Thursday.
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said he expected the virus to claim more lives.
“I have always expressed concern about the fact that when you have hundreds of new cases a day, there are several people expected to die in the following two-week period,” Prof Sutton said.
“I’m afraid we will see that and I expect that to occur.
“With large numbers of cases, there are a number of other people, younger individuals who are hospitalised and they are at risk of serious injury as well. Some of those people who are in intensive care and on ventilators are younger individuals.
“That is an absolute tragedy and of course we are working in whatever way we can to drive those numbers down.”
It comes after four men, aged in their 50s, 70s, 80s and 90s, and a woman aged in her 70s, succumbed to the virus on Thursday, while the outbreaks in aged care facilities continues to worsen.
There are more than 450 cases connected to aged care with at least 40 Victorian facilities affected.
Police Minister Lisa Neville announced Australian Defence Force personnel had started patrolling high-profile areas across the city with Victoria Police, such as cycling and pedestrian paths, the botanical gardens, Princes Park and Albert Park Lake.
“They are there to provide reassurance, but if people are obviously breaching these rules, they will also be there to fine people,” she said.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said some individuals were choosing not to wear masks, even after they were offered one by police.
“They say it’s they’re right not to wear a mask, in that instance they’ve been issued with fines,” he said.
“We are also patrolling supermarkets, shopping centres, other popular areas to ensure that people are complying.”
A handful of fines have so far been handed out to people not complying with the new measures to wear a mask in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.
Mr Andrews also announced defence force members would support contact tracing authorised officers to conduct same day house calls for positive cases that can’t be reached.
Under the new measures, if a person cannot be contacted after two calls within a two-hour window, or if they refuse to participate in a contact tracing interview, ADF personnel accompanied by an authorised officer will visit the address on the same day.
If the person is not home, an investigation will be undertaken to determine the reason for their absence and they could be fined if they are found to be violating the chief health officer’s directions to isolate.
Mr Andrews said on Thursday there was one concerning figure that would keep case numbers high in Victoria.
He said the “reff number” – also known as the reproduction number, which was the amount of people a positive case infects – was about one.
The Premier said if it stayed at one case numbers would stabilise but they would not drop.
Mr Andrews said Victoria needed to get the “reff number” below one so that less people were becoming infected with each positive case.
He said if the ratio was 0.5, with only one person being infected from every two cases, the new case numbers would fall.
“That’s where we have to get to,” Mr Andrews said.
“This is a second wave that’s all about the 1 and 2 percenters, it’s about all the small things, the small improvements.
“Stability is not enough, stability won’t get us beyond this, we have to find those small instrumental gains.”
The State Government has also announced on Friday a $22 million support package for the taxi and commercial passenger vehicle industry aimed at ensuring the safety of drivers and vulnerable passengers relying on the services throughout the pandemic.
More than $6 million will go towards subsidising depot fees paid by vehicle owners to ensure wheelchair accessible vehicles are available for those who need them.
Another $3.5 million in grants will help support increased cleaning and sanitation of vehicles, and a further $1 million will go to establishing a regional essential service fund to support struggling booking service providers in regional communities.
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