COVID-19

  • CHECKPOINT CHEATS

    CHECKPOINT CHEATS

    Macedon Ranges residents have raised concern over how easily people have been able to enter the shire from COVID-19 lockdown areas across its borders. While police have established vehicle checkpoints on major arterial roads heading out of Melbourne, several people have contacted the Midland Express to report their easy entry to the Macedon Ranges via…

  • Coles Woodend staff member positive

    Coles Woodend staff member positive

    A team member at Coles’ Woodend supermarket is self-isolating after testing positive for COVID-19. In a statement posted to the Coles website last night, the company said a number of team members who worked in close contact had also been asked to self-isolate and Coles would continue to work with the Victorian Department of Health…

  • Coronavirus update for Victoria

    Coronavirus update for Victoria

    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…

  • Coronavirus update

    Coronavirus update

    The total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Victoria is 1628 – an increase of 10 since yesterday. There have been no new deaths reported. To date, 19 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria. No recorded cases in the Macedon Ranges, Mount Alexander and Hepburn shires remain active. There have been 165 confirmed cases…

  • A date with destiny

    A date with destiny

    Big weddings are out during the coronavirus pandemic, so Macedon Ranges newlyweds Fernada and Raymond DeMack found a new way to reach their 300-plus guest list on Saturday. Chairs were empty as they said their vows at Sunbury Baptist Church but cameras captured and livestreamed every moment to friends and family. All understood the significance…

  • Community pantry up and running

    Community pantry up and running

    Local volunteers, community groups and organisations are working together to provide food relief for residents in need in Mount Alexander Shire. The newly created Mount Alexander Community Pantry is a centrally coordinated food relief system that aims to provide assistance in the absence of a local foodbank. Castlemaine Community House manager Martyn Shaddick said everyone…

  • Ready to tackle the crisis

    Ready to tackle the crisis

    An army of volunteers has been working behind the scenes to sew gowns, caps and masks for Castlemaine doctors to ensure they are well protected and ready to tackle the coronavirus crisis. A grateful Dr Richard Mayes and Dr Dominic Blanks of Castlemaine’s Lyttleton Street Clinic described it as a “massive effort”. “We have had…

  • Coronavirus update for Victoria

    The total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Victoria is 1291 – an increase of 10 from yesterday, as testing for the virus expands in Victoria. There were no new deaths reported yesterday. To date, 14 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria. The total number of cases is made up of 672 men and…

  • Aged care residents keep in touch with outside world

    Aged care residents keep in touch with outside world

    The residents of RM Begg Kyneton Aged Care may currently be in lockdown but the staff are making sure they still have contact with the outside world. No visitors are permitted but residents continue to be connected with their family and friends via email, face time, phone calls, letters and social media. Families also have…

  • Coronavirus update for Victoria

    The total number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases in Victoria is 1191­ – an increase of 33 from yesterday. Yesterday a woman in her 80s died in hospital, taking the number of people who have died in Victoria from coronavirus to 11, as new measures come into force from tonight to further slow the spread. The…

  • DOCTORS, NURSES NOT PROTECTED

    DOCTORS, NURSES NOT PROTECTED

    Stress is mounting for medical professionals as they struggle to access basic personal protective equipment to face the coronavirus pandemic, including Macedon Ranges’ own. A local doctor, who did not wish to be identified, said supplies were shockingly low and healthcare workers were now resorting to desperate measures to feel safe in their work environment.…

  • TAKE THE MESSAGE SERIOUSLY

    TAKE THE MESSAGE SERIOUSLY

    Authorities are urging people to take the self-isolation message seriously as Victoria steps up measures to flatten the curve in new cases of coronavirus. Victoria has entered stage three of its response, with people facing fines of more than $1600 for breaching social-distancing rules. Gatherings will be restricted to no more than two people except…