11 new local cases, regional Victoria to be freed from lockdown
Daniel Andrews has admitted one thing when asked for an update about how the current outbreak started. Meanwhile, those who try to flee locked-down Melbourne have been threatened with penalties.
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Melburnians who try to sneak out of the city after regional Victoria’s lockdown lifts have been warned they will be slapped with a $5452 fine.
Regional Victoria will be released from the state’s lockdown from 11.59pm on Monday night.
It comes as 11 new cases of locally acquired coronavirus were detected in the community on Monday, all linked to the Hobsons Bay cluster.
Just one of those cases was in isolation throughout their infectious period.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced the decision on Monday morning after health authorities said they were confident the latest outbreaks had been contained within metropolitan Melbourne, where lockdown is set to be extended beyond Thursday.
“This is very positive news and speaks to the degree of containment we have around these cases,” he said.
“There’s a degree of localisation to these cases and we haven’t seen cases in regional Victoria for the last four or five days.”
Regional Victorians will be able to leave home for any reason, while schools and workplaces will reopen. However, they will only be allowed to travel to Melbourne for a permitted reason, and metropolitan restrictions must be followed once there.
Food and hospitality will open for seated service only, with density limits to apply.
Meanwhile, personal care and beauty providers have also been given the green light to open.
Businesses must also check the IDs of everyone they serve.
Outdoor gatherings can be held for groups of up to 10 people.
Weddings and funerals can proceed with a maximum of 50 people, while cafes, restaurants and hospitality venues can open to seated service only, with density limits.
Masks remain mandatory both indoors and outdoors.
About 200 police officers will begin roving patrols from Tuesday to swoop on Melburnians attempting to visit regional Victoria.
Commander Deb Robertson said police on main, arterial and back roads would use automatic number plate recognition technology to ensure people are following the rules.
“Anyone trying to sneak out of Melbourne and drive through the back roads, I implore them not to do it,” she said. “We will be out in force in all areas.”
The fine for travelling from metropolitan Melbourne to regional Victoria without a permitted reason is $5452.
People in regional areas have also been encouraged to dob in those who should not be there.
“We have the eyes and ears of our regional town people that will also let us know if there are people in their town that should not be there.”
DAN’S ADMISSION ABOUT OUTBREAK
Mr Andrews has admitted the state may never figure out the origin of the current Covid outbreaks, as authorities attempt to dampen virus spot fires.
Mr Andrews on Monday said authorities may never know the origin of the current outbreaks affecting Melbourne’s western and southwestern suburbs.
“We continue to run and re-run genomics, we’re continuing to interrogate the national database and all those genomic sequences,” Mr Andrews said.
“Sometimes you don’t get an exact match, so we may never know.”
Authorities believe the current outbreak came from Sydney and have confirmed it is the Delta variant.
But what they don’t know is how the strain entered the state, or how it is connected to any previous outbreak.
The government is continuing to run down all active theories and investigating all points of contact, but Mr Andrews said there may not ever be an exact match.
“That’s what’s really concerning, you don’t want to see numbers,” he said.
“What will remain a challenge is (working out) where these two chains of transmission first began, and it’s not for the want of trying.”
PARENTS FRUSTRATED AT ‘CONFLICTING’ INFORMATION
Ilim College parents have expressed frustration over “conflicting” information from authorities about the school’s latest Covid-19 scare.
In a Zoom meeting on Monday night held by Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar and Ilim College families, several parents and students said they had received “conflicting information” from DHHS about who should get tested and isolate.
The school, which closed as a precautionary measure on Thursday due to its connection with Al-Taqwa College, confirmed to parents on Saturday evening that a student at its Kiewa Secondary Boys Campus in Dallas had Covid-19 and was onsite Tuesday, August 3 and Wednesday, August 4.
Parents had asked more than 189 questions in the Zoom’s Q&A to Mr Sutton, Mr Weimar and college staff during the meeting.
A father with children at the school said he had received “conflicting information” over testing from authorities.
“We spoke to DHHS yesterday and the gentleman told us that you must get a test now and that only my son must get a test on day 13 and the rest of us don’t have to, so the information is conflicting here,” he said.
“We understand we need to do it and will do it but I just want to point out that the information has been conflicting and quite confusing.
“A text message that I received has been worded very differently to a text message that my wife received … there’s a lot of discrepancies as well.”
Another woman said staff members had expressed confusion after receiving multiple calls from DHHS.
“Some of them have been contacted by DHHS members multiple times, one of them received four phone calls. They were just wondering why this is happening?” she said.
Mr Weimar responded by saying they had increased calls to check-in and offer support.
“The other challenge is that we have households where there are multiple people and ... close contacts,” he said.
A woman also asked Mr Sutton how confident he was regarding the safety of vaccines and labelled it as “experimental”.
Mr Sutton responded by saying the vaccine was not an “experimental” drug and reassured the school community of its safety.
“It has been developed over the last 12 months over the background of 20 years for the mRNA vaccines, which Pfizer is 20 years of mRNA development,” he said.
“The process of checking for safety and efficacy has been worked through with hundreds of millions of recipients and those trials have involved hundreds of thousands of people compared against those who haven’t received a vaccine.”
It comes as Al-Taqwa and Ilim College parents have also told the Herald Sun they have been “bombarded” with coronavirus misinformation from anti-vaxxers in recent days.
A father, whose son attends Al-Taqwa College, said he was sent at least six messages from anti-vaxxers, warning him not to get vaccinated.
“They have sent me videos and websites that are all sending an anti-vaccine message. It’s wrong and unhelpful to the community. My family and I have received our first dose of the vaccine,” he said.
HOPES MORE CASES WILL BE ISOLATING WHILE INFECTIOUS
Chief health officer Brett Sutton said there had not been “superspreading events”, like the MCG or AAMI Park clusters in the previous outbreak.
“We haven’t had those events in this recent outbreak. We have seen some wastewater detection in regions, but that may be reflective of a time where we were free to move across the state,” he said.
“We also know that people are testing and we are chasing up all of the cases we have here. We are finding all the cases are linked.”
“There are no exposure sites in regional Victoria and no cases, just a few primary close contacts, so it is appropriate to ease those restrictions in regional Vic.”
There are still no changes to metropolitan Melbourne at this stage.
Authorities said it was still too early to say when any changes could be announced for the metropolitan area, which is set to have its lockdown extended past 8pm Thursday.
“No decision has been made on what happens after 8pm on Thursday. That decision will not be made today or tomorrow,” Mr Andrews said.
The Premier said it was a good sign that one of Monday’s new cases had been in isolation throughout their infectious period.
“We’re starting to see now the first of the new cases coming through that have been tucked away, no risk to public health,” he said.
“They’ve been in iso for 100 per cent of their infectious period. That’s the system working as it should.”
The latest infections include:
• Seven people associated with the CS Square shopping centre (five household members of an estate agent, one member linked to a cafe at the centre, and a customer at Spectacle Hub);
• Two people linked to the Newport Football Club (including the coach and a teammate);
• One family member, a child, of a known household in Newport; and
• One further student at Al-Taqwa College.
More than 12,700 primary close contacts are in isolation, with almost 9000 of those linked to schools.
Meanwhile, NSW has recorded 283 new cases and one death after a woman in her 90s died overnight.
The regional city of Tamworth will enter a one-week lockdown from 5pm.
Queensland announced four new local Covid cases on Monday.
UNDER-40S RUSH TO GET ASTRAZENECA
Young Victorians under 40 determined to get the jab flocked to state-run hubs for AstraZeneca on Monday.
While the vaccine was previously only available to them at GP clinics, doctors will now administer AstraZeneca at several hubs across the state, including the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
Twenty-eight-year old Jacob Sutton said he was keen to reduce Covid’s impact on youth and the community as soon as possible.
He said the consultation was “very informative” and the hub’s ease of access “made all the difference”.
“If everyone gets vaccinated, then we should be closer to normal life.
“I want to go on holiday at some point.”
Anthony Naus, 30, said he was “relieved” to get AstraZeneca and it was easier than a blood test
“I’ve wanted to do it for weeks and months,” he said.
“It was surprisingly easy and thorough.”
He told the Herald Sun he wanted to “make a point” and set an example for family and friends yet to have their shot.
“One of my friends came last night and she got it and she was fine,” he said.
“I just really wanted to come today to just get it done.”
Family and friends can get their shot together if they want to, speeding up the process by chatting to the GP at the same time as part of the informed consent process.
Student and swim instructor Claire Esler, 22, lined up with her partner Jacob Mahony, 31, at Jeff’s Shed on their lunch break.
Mr Mahony, CFO at a transport company, said they wanted to be part of the 80 per cent who will allow Australia to relax restrictions.
“The sooner we get to the 80 per cent (vaccinated), the sooner we open back up,” he said.
“So many small businesses are having to close down all the time. It breaks your heart.
“Just go out and get your jab.”
Ms Esler said they wanted to “do our bit” to end lockdowns and socialising with friends was what she missed the most.
“Catching up, socialising, being able to book a trip and not wonder if we’ll actually be able to go,” she said.
“I don’t think there’s any point delaying (vaccination), I want to go travelling.
“If we want restaurants and bars to open back up it’s going to be a bit of a team effort to try and get back to normal.”
DRIVE-THROUGH VACCINE CLINIC OPENS
Australia’s first drive-through Covid-19 vaccination clinic opened on Monday, with drivers arriving at a former Bunnings Warehouse in Melton to roll up their sleeves for a dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
The first carload of people ready for their Pfizer shot arrived at 8.30am.
The first drivers through to the site began their 15-minute observation period after their first jabs about 8.45am.
Medical staff in full PPE administered the doses through car windows.
Vehicles snaked through the Barries Rd site as Victorians awaited their booking time.
Melton resident Peter was one of the first people to receive his Pfizer vaccine at the new drive-through hub.
Peter’s message for eligible Victorians was clear: “Get jabbed so we can get out of lockdown,” he said. “This (lockdown) is bulls---.”
Peter said he was “feeling good” after his 15-minute observation period.
“I’m feeling good, glad to be over,” Peter said.
Thanh, 48, said her jab was “quick and painless”.
“I feel normal, it was just like getting a flu shot,” she said. “It’s just a bit more dramatic with the set-up.”
The Sydenham resident said booking her vaccination appointment at the new drive-through clinic was much easier than her repeated attempted to be inoculated at a hospital.
“This was so much more convenient,” she said.
Western Health chief executive Russell Harrison said the clinic was running as a busy but smooth operation on its first day open to the public.
“It’s going really well. The team has done a great job and the public seems to be coming in and getting the jab,” Mr Harrison said. “It’s been pretty busy,” he said.
Mr Harrison said the clinic was on track to deliver Astra-Zeneca doses next week and encouraged all Victorians to get their hands on any available vaccine dose.
“Astra-Zeneca is coming next week,” he said. “Come and get a vaccine.
“Whichever product, they’re both fine … Once you’re eligible, we’ll give you advice.”
MORE POP-UP HUBS TO COME
The clinic could be the first of many new pop-up hubs to expand the state’s rollout, with talks under way to boost the number of jabs with more drive-through clinics, including in regional areas, stadiums and shopping centre car parks.
The move comes as Victorians aged 18-39 were urged to get the AstraZeneca shot, with nine of 50 state-run clinics now administering the vaccines to young people who book online.
Although the Bunnings site is not currently in use, the retail giant is also in talks with state and federal governments about further support that could include more people getting the jab in shopping car parks.
“You book, you drive up, roll down your window, roll up your sleeve, get a jab, it’s that easy,” Covid Response deputy secretary, Naomi Bromley said.
“They’ll come forward to a bay, essentially, and they’ll park, get their vaccination and then they’ll go through to a waiting area.”
The appointment-only site at 149 Barries Rd, Melton West was made available for a “peppercorn fee”.
It will administer up to 10,000 vaccines a week and will offer AstraZeneca from mid-August.
About 10 cars at a time will be allocated to booking slots, with nurses to roam the waiting area for 15 minutes after people are vaccinated.
Wesfarmers first offered local Bunnings sites and Officeworks as vaccination centres in early July at a meeting attended by business leaders Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Covid-19 Task-force commander Lieutenant General John Frewen.
Under Lt Gen Frewen’s plan, drive-through vaccine trials were due to start in mid-September and would be operating at scale in most jurisdictions by mid-October.
Asked if car parks at the MCG or Marvel Stadium could also be used for mass vaccination sites, Ms Bromley said: “All options are open”.
“We have got many, many partners who are very keen to work with us on the vaccination program,” she said, adding Victoria would share its tips with other states.
Bunnings managing director, Mike Schneider, said their own team was encouraged to get the jab because accelerating community vaccinations was vital to the Covid-19 recovery.
“We’re actively exploring other ways we can support the rollout,” Mr Schneider said.
Nicolette Kolozsi, 48, had no intention of making history when she became the first person to be vaccinated at the clinic, which opened to invitees on Sunday.
“My partner works for Western Health and was coming out here to do the safety checks, I just came along for a drive to support him,” Ms Kolozsi said.
The Croydon mother of two was asked to undertake a ‘test run’ rehearsal at the clinic, but she thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get vaccinated instead.
“They quickly changed the needle to a loaded dose, it was a pretty crazy experience when I realised I would be the first person (to be vaccinated).
Ms Kolozsi said the whole experience at the clinic was seamless and should be duplicated around the city.
“It feels great to be vaccinated, I wish I had done it sooner but this is a special way to do my part,” she said.
SHOPPING CENTRES ON ALERT, STUDENT TESTS POSITIVE
Hundreds of shoppers have been forced into isolation after a busy Maribyrnong centre was declared a coronavirus exposure site due to a positive case visiting the building.
Anyone who visited Highpoint Shopping Centre between 11.30am-4:00pm on August 1 must get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result, while the Myer store inside the building is of greater concern to health officials.
The Myer store was identified as a Tier 1 site for that same period, forcing shoppers to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
It comes after a student from St Alban’s North Primary Schools tested positive for Covid.
The school has been closed and a letter sent to parents telling them that staff and students must get tested and isolate at home until further notice. The school will not be conducting onsite supervision.
Parents were told they or their child may have been exposed to the virus on August 3 and/or 5.
This brings the number of schools associated with the current outbreak to eight.
The school closure comes as the number of exposure sites is growing in St Albans, Caroline Springs and Taylor’s Lakes.
Meanwhile, another busy shopping centre is among Melbourne’s latest exposure sites, with fears the deadly Delta variant could have spread in the toilets.
Anyone who visited the Caroline Springs Square shopping centre between July 27 to August 5 has been urged to get tested immediately.
Chief health officer Brett Sutton on Sunday warned the highly infectious Delta strain could have spread in walkways or toilets.
“We don’t have absolutely clear linkages to a positive case necessarily, but we know that this overall setting is a concern,” Prof Sutton said.
Two of Sunday’s shopping centres cases work at the Jolly Miller Cafe, which was previously listed as an exposure site.
Another works at a real estate agency, where no known case was present, and attended a number of exposure sites in the centre.
“If you’re unsure but you go to CS Square, especially at that end of the shopping centre, then please get tested,” Prof Sutton said.
“We certainly don’t want this shopping centre to be anything akin to previous shopping centring that we have seen in outbreaks in Victoria or interstate.”
Meanwhile, families of Christ the Priest Primary School in Caroline Springs have been alerted that a student tested positive for coronavirus.
The school will be closed on Monday for 24 hours to allow it time to work with DHHS to work through a contact containment strategy.
Dorevitch Pathology at Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital in St Albans was also identified as a coronavirus Tier 1 exposure site after a positive case visited the building.
Anyone who visited the pathology clinic on Friday between 9.05am-9.50am must get tested and isolate for 14 days.
Contact tracers worked throughout Sunday night to track the positive case’s transmission throughout the busy hospital.
“We’re still delivering babies. It’s still a very busy service, but the team is doing a great job to manage that,” Western Health chief executive Russell Harrison said.
“The team are doing a great job. We’ve been doing a lot of contact tracing overnight for staff and patients and furloughing those staff that we have to.”
The Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital is located on the same site as Sunshine Hospital.
ANTI-LOCKDOWN PROTESTERS CHARGED
A protester has been charged with assaulting a police officer at last week’s anti-lockdown rally.
A 48-year-old Southbank man was arrested on Sunday night and charged with affray, riotous behaviour, assaulting a police officer and breaching the chief health officer’s directions.
He was bailed to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
Hundreds of protesters stormed Melbourne’s CBD last Thursday, setting off flares and clashing with police as the state was plunged into its sixth lockdown.
A 24-year-old Footscray woman was also interviewed on Sunday in relation to discharging a missile, riotous behaviour and breaching the chief health officer directions at the protest.
She was released and is expected to be charged on summons to appear at court at a later date.
A man wanted over the release of a flare at the protest has been identified by police.
“Detectives would like to thank the public for their assistance and the investigation remains ongoing,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
CAIRNS DECLARED RED ZONE
Victorians returning home from Cairns and Yarrabah must quarantine for 14 days from 11.59pm Sunday, after the towns were declared red zones under the state’s transit system.
Non-Victorians from those towns will not be permitted to apply for travel permits to enter the state when the permit changes come into effect.
Cairns and Yarrabah have also been retrospectively declared orange zones between July 8 and August 8 (before 11:59pm Sunday).
Anyone who has arrived in Victoria from Cairns or Yarrabah between July 29 and August 8 must get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
The Queensland towns entered a three-day lockdown on Sunday following a positive coronavirus case in the region.
GET THE JAB, WIN A CAR
Tollway operator Transurban is offering users a chance to win electric cars and a year of free tolls in the latest drive for people to get Covid vaccinations.
The operator, which runs City Link and is building the West Gate Tunnel Project in Melbourne, manages more than 20 toll roads in Australia and North America.
From September, vaccinated customers in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney will go into a draw to win one of two Hyundai electric vehicles worth about $70,000 each.
Other prizes include free tolls for a year, which could be worth between $500 and $2500 depending on the winner, and 300 toll vouchers valued at $100 each.
There will be draws in November and mid-2022 and further details will be announced in coming weeks.
Transurban is the latest organisation to steer its customers to get the jab in support of the Herald Sun’sCall to Arms campaign in a bid to overcome vaccine hesitancy and provide a road map to opening up.
AL-TAQWA CLUSTERS GROWS
A cluster at Al-Taqwa College has continued to grow, with four students among the new cases.
Drive-through testing centres are located at Deer Park and Victoria University’s St Albans campus.
At the Flemington housing towers on Racecourse Rd, people living on the 17th floor and a further 200 residents throughout the building have tested negative.
Two previously announced positive cases in the tower have been revealed to be students who attend Kiewa Secondary Boys’ Campus in Dallas, and Mount Alexander College in Flemington.
Authorities are yet to identify how the two mystery cases that seeded Melbourne’s latest outbreak were infected, prompting concerns that more infected people are spreading the virus around the community.
“We can’t work out where they got it. It means there’s at least one other or a group of other cases out there somewhere,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Mr Andrews was tight-lipped on how long the sixth lockdown would last, telling Victorians he would provide an update later in the week.
COVID APP’S NEW FEATURE
Victorians can now access their own check-in history in a bid to boost the state’s contact tracing efforts.
The Service Victoria app has been updated to include a new function, which allows users to obtain their QR code check-in history.
Users can also delete check-ins from their personal history, if they don’t want it visible on their phone.
However, deleting check-in details from the history list will not remove it from the contact tracing database.
Only the mobile phone owner can view the check-in details, which will automatically be deleted from the list after 28 days.
Users are encouraged to download the latest Service Victoria app to access the new feature.
— Additional reporting: Mitch Ryan, Jade Gailberger, Sarah Booth, Claire Heaney, Susie O’Brien, Suzan Delibasic
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Originally published as 11 new local cases, regional Victoria to be freed from lockdown
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