Weak positive coronavirus test result in Victorian aged care under investigation

A positive COVID test in a Victorian aged care resident is still under investigation following his fourth test as the state emerges from a strict five-day snap lockdown.

The Victorian aged care resident suspected of returning a “weak positive” COVID-19 test due to viral shedding has returned another indeterminate result.

The state’s COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed a fourth test taken by the man still wasn’t conclusive.

The weak positive test result in aged care was revealed as Victoria emerged from a snap five-day lockdown.

The case, which wasn’t added to Wednesday’s daily numbers of zero locally acquired infections, remained under investigation by health authorities on Thursday morning.

“We tested them again on Wednesday and they returned another indeterminate result, so there’s more work to be done with that individual,” Mr Weimar said on Thursday.

“They’re safely isolating, they’re physically well, but we are doing more work with them over the next day or two.”

The state’s health department confirmed on Wednesday night it had been notified of a weak positive test result in a man who presented to hospital from the Twin Parks Aged Care facility in Reservoir.

The department said the man was a positive case from August last year.

The weak positive result was recorded in a man from Twin Parks Aged Care in Reservoir. Picture: Google Maps

They said he had no links to any cases from the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn cluster.

“He tested negative twice before a third test returned a weak positive,” the health department said.

“The result is thought to represent persistent shedding from a previous infection.”

Health officials retested the man on Wednesday and the result will be considered by members of the expert review panel before they make a verdict on the case.

“Out of an abundance of caution while awaiting the repeat test, the aged care facility has been kept safe and all staff and residents were tested,” the health department said.

Wednesday’s figure of no new locally acquired cases was a key factor in Victoria’s snap five-day lockdown being lifted on time.

The restrictions were lifted overnight, removing restrictions around why residents can leave their homes and ending the 5km travel limit.

There are 25 active cases in Victoria, made up of 17 locally acquired cases and eight infections acquired overseas.

The total number of COVID-19 cases linked to the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn – the cluster that sent Victoria back into a third lockdown – remains at 19.

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