Twenty-one new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Victoria yesterday, bringing the total cumulative number of cases to 1762.
Of the new cases, 15 have been detected in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, two are linked to existing outbreaks and four have been identified through community testing.
One of the new cases identified through community testing has been detected in a resident of Rosstown Community aged care facility in Carnegie. The facility has been placed into lockdown while contact tracing, testing, cleaning and other necessary public health actions are being undertaken.
Another of the new cases identified through community testing has been detected in a contractor at Stamford Plaza Hotel, a hotel with returned overseas travellers in quarantine. The investigation into this case is ongoing and all public health actions are being taken, including contact tracing and deep cleaning.
An additional case detected through community testing has been linked to a staff member at Sunbury Animal Hospital. The asymptomatic case is believed to have attended the clinic for a brief time while infectious. A small number of close contacts have been identified and placed into quarantine, and the clinic has been closed for at least today while cleaning is undertaken.
Another of the new cases has been identified through investigation of the outbreak previously linked to Monash Health. This outbreak has now been confirmed to be a primarily family-based outbreak in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. The total number of cases linked to this outbreak is now seven.
One case listed as under investigation in yesterday’s media release has now been linked to a worker at Inspira Early Learning Centre in Gladstone Park. The families were notified yesterday and the centre has chosen to close for two weeks. The staff member attended the centre for two days last week while infectious. The department is working closely with the facility to ensure that all public health actions are taken.
“Thanks to Victorians playing their part, staying at home and getting tested, we have made some great progress in slowing the spread of coronavirus,” Victoria’s chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton said.
“However, we are still seeing transmission in households and other settings. It remains critical to practice good hygiene – wash your hands regularly and cough and sneeze into a tissue or your elbow and try to avoid touching your face.
“Stay 1.5 metres away from anyone you don’t live with and avoid crowds, especially indoors. If you can keep working from home – you must keep working from home.
“And if you do feel unwell with any symptoms of coronavirus you should get tested. This includes fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose or loss of sense of smell.”
