Melbourne brings back strict Covid restrictions after state records four cases

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The Victorian Government has introduced strict new restrictions for Melbourne in response to the latest coronavirus outbreak in the city. 

Deputy Premier James Merlino confirmed in a press conference on Tuesday morning a man in his 60s has tested positive, bringing the state’s total number of active cases to five. 

Deputy Premier Merlino said testing confirmed the new case was linked to the outbreak in the Whittlesea area and that the man was isolating at home.

Melbourne brought back a number of strict restrictions in response to the outbreak.

The new measures include masks to be worn indoors in the greater Melbourne area, indoor gatherings limited to five visitors and a maximum of 30 people to gather outside from 6pm Tuesday.

Schools and workplaces will remain open. Students and workers must wear masks at all times while indoors, including during classes, unless under the age of 12. 

Any residents of Melbourne travelling out of the area must carry the new restrictions with them. 

‘These are the measures that are here to protect you, your loved ones and the entire community,’ Deputy Premier Merlino said.   

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the new case was symptomatic at the time of his testing and they are investigating another ‘intermediary’ link. 

He confirmed the case is from the Indian variant and said there could still be cases in the community.

‘It’s possible there’s another missing link out there,’ Professor Sutton said. 

The Public Events panel are currently deciding what to do in regards to sports crowds and will advise in the coming days. 

The AFL are still hoping to allow crowds for the upcoming weekend’s fixtures, with only the Adelaide Crows having to travel into the city. 

There are no immediate changes to rules surrounding bars and restaurants. 

Dancefloors remain open but people must wear masks while dancing. 

Masks must be worn if not eating or drinking, which also applies to weddings and funerals. 

The Victorian Government say they expect the exposure site list to expand based on the new case and are set to announce the new list. 

Contact tracers are battling to contain a potential outbreak after the positive test results were confirmed in the city’s northern suburbs – marking the first locally acquired transmissions in 86 days. 

Confirmed infections include man aged in his 30s, another man in his 70s, a woman in her 70s and a preschool-aged child from the Whittlesea area on Melbourne’s northern outskirts.  

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the new infections are a stark warning to the community.

‘You can see how Covid can be transmitted in the community because it can be a mild disease and, therefore, go undetected,’ she said on Monday. 

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will not shut the border between the two states, but people travelling from Victoria to Sydney will be asked on arrival whether they have visited an exposure site.

A declaration form is also available on the Service NSW website and must be completed upon entry.  

Authorities have also told anyone who has visited the Whittlesea area to avoid visiting aged care facilities or hospitals.

The Whittlesea area includes the suburbs of Beveridge, Donnybrook, Doreen, Eden Park, Epping, Humevale, Kinglake West, Lalor, Mernda, Mill Park, South Morang, Thomastown, Whittlesea, Wollert, Woodstock and Yan Yean. 

Chief health officer Brett Sutton has warned Australians to be on alert for further outbreaks during the colder months. 

‘The transmission potential will be greater now than it was when we spent more time outdoors, where we distanced better, where we wore masks more often,’ he said.

‘All of those behaviours are useful to remind ourselves and really try and do that again, especially in the couple of weeks ahead of us.’

All four new cases in Victoria are from the same family across two households, and Mr Sutton warned at least one of the cases is ‘likely to be quite infectious’.   

‘We have to ready ourselves for any other positives and when there are close contacts who do become positive, that raises the possibility that even a casual contact could become positive as well.’ 

On Tuesday morning, South Australia imposed fresh border restrictions on Victorians from key sites linked to new Covid-19 cases.

The state will stop travellers who visited a number of locations in Melbourne’s north from crossing the border, and anyone in SA who recently visited those sites must self-isolate for 14 days and get tested three times.

Less severe measures have been imposed for anyone who visited the City of Whittlesea, with those arrivals required to have a test within 24 hours and isolate until they receive a negative result. 

South Australia’s Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said on Monday the cases were a reminder that even though Australia had done well in containing the virus, the potential for a significant outbreak remained.

Hundreds of Melburnians were ordered to immediately get tested and self-isolate as a host of venues were identified as sites visited by infected cases, including Epping North Woolworths, Epping Nando’s restaurant and the popular Highpoint shopping centre food court. 

More potential exposure sites are expected to be revealed as the desperate search to track down the mysterious source of the infection ramps up. 

There are also growing fears of a contact tracing bungle after health officials listed  the wrong supermarket as a potential exposure site.

Any diners who attended Nando’s Epping on May 19 between 8.30pm and 9.20pm must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

The same order applies to anyone who attended Woolworths Epping North on May 22 between 4.45pm-5:45pm. 

A host of tier two sites were also listed late Monday night, where anyone who attended at the specific times must get tested and self-isolate until they get a negative result.

They include anyone who was inside the Urban Diner Food Court at Pacific Epping Shopping Centre on Sunday May 23 between 1.15pm-2.30pm. 

An infected case also attended Epping North Shopping Centre on May 22 between 4:45pm and 5:50pm, where they visited the House and Party store between 5.15pm-5:50pm.

An infected case also visited Shell Coles Express in Reservoir on May 18 between 3.15pm-4.15pm. 

Anyone who attended the Preston Lions vs Whittlesea NPL football match on the night of May 21 at B.T. Connor Reserve in Reservoir must also get tested and isolate until further notice.

Those who attended Futsal Brunswick between 9am-10am on Sunday must also be on high alert.

Woolworths Epping North is the same supermarket where a Wollert man who tested positive earlier this month had attended almost two weeks ago.

A health spokeswoman said authorities are yet to establish whether the previous and most recent case who visited the store on May 22 were linked to one another. 

Health officials were forced to admit last Friday they incorrectly listed a Woolworths store in Epping, rather than Epping North, as an exposure site visited by the Wollert man earlier this month.

The error was detected after wastewater testing detected traces of the virus in the area.

Opposition leader Michael O’Brien slammed the Victoria government over the contract tracing bungle.

‘We’ve got the government making basic errors over the locations of supermarkets, and those basic errors are putting all of us at risk and that is just not acceptable,’ Mr O’Brien said.

‘This is a government that created a second wave through its own incompetence. 

‘They promised us they learnt the lessons and it seems they haven’t.

‘If we get another outbreak in Melbourne because this government didn’t do the basics right then frankly the Health Minister and other ministers need to lose their jobs.’

Earlier on Monday, the Department of Health urged visitors to the Jump! Swim School, in Bundoora, Melbourne’s north-east, between 8.55am and 10.15am on May 21 to get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days.

It comes after the infected woman and preschool-aged child attended the facility for a swimming lesson.

The pool has been closed until further notice to undergo a deep clean. 

Thousands of shoppers are also at risk after one of the infected men visited Highpoint Shopping Centre in Maribyrnong on May 20 between 5pm and 8pm. 

Shoppers who attended the centre at the identified times are required to get tested and isolate until further notice.

Contract tracers are currently retrieving information about which stores the infected case visited.

‘Highpoint Shopping Centre is a very big place,’ Health Minister Martin Foley told reporters on Monday.

‘We are getting further advice from the gentleman is to specifically where the visitations were in Highpoint Shopping Centre.

‘Getting the information out was really critical and then as further detailed information becomes available, we will update that site.’

The shopping centre said it is ramping up its cleaning regimes throughout all high traffic areas. 

Genomic sequencing is due back on Tuesday, which will help determine if the cases are linked to the infected man from Wollert who flew to Melbourne from South Australian hotel quarantine earlier this month.

Mr Foley said the dates didn’t add up but refused to rule out a possible link.

‘Given the proximity of the gentleman from early May who returned from hotel quarantine in Adelaide who lives in that city, we do not rule out the prospect that there is a link,’ he said. 

‘The dates do not line up immediately so we cannot rule out if there is a missing link out there.’ 

‘We are concerned, without a doubt, this is not a time to be complacent.’ 

The mysterious new cases are close family members, living in two separate houses.

Health authorities were alerted to the cluster after a Whittlesea man presented for testing on Sunday. He and an asymptomatic male relative from a separate household both tested positive.

A woman and the Whittlesea man’s preschool-aged child have also since been confirmed as Covid-19 positive.   

The health minister said they would have more information on Tuesday after further conversations are conducted with the close contacts of the new cases. 

‘Based off initial interviews and intelligence and are likely to be subject to further expansion as conversations with the cases and close contacts evolves,’ Mr Foley said.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton expects further exposure sites will be identified.   

‘Obviously we are going into a period where people spend more time indoors and are in closer proximity… We are three months, as we just heard, away from local community transmission. 

Melburnians flocked to testing facilities across the city on Monday, with 15 sites experiencing estimated wait times exceeding 30 minutes. 

There were hour-long delays at drive-through test clinics in Sandringham, Epping, Heidelberg, and Watirna, and 45minute wait times at the Banyule Community Health facility in Greensborough and at Monash University in Clayton. 

By Monday night, wait times at the Hampstead Road Covid-19 testing site blew out to two-and-half hours as other testing sites remained open for longer due to the overwhelming demand. 

Mr Foley stressed there are currently no plans for Melbourne to go into lockdown at this stage.  

Queensland, Western Australia and New South Wales responded to Melbourne’s outbreak on Monday night.

Anyone in Queensland who has been to one of the declared COVID-19 exposure sites in Victoria during the risk period specified will be required to quarantine. 

From 1am Wednesday, anyone who enters Queensland and has been to any of the Victorian exposure sites at the time specified will need to quarantine for 14 days in government-arranged accommodation. 

Western Australia has also announced similar rules.