Victorian health authorities still do not know how six recent COVID-19 cases in the state's outbreak caught the virus, as they issue an urgent plea to anyone with symptoms to get a test for the sake of the broader community.
Key points:
- Genomic sequencing tests suggest both the Reservoir household of four and two people who travelled to Queensland were infected with the Kappa strain
- Testing numbers slumped again yesterday as authorities warn low test results could slow the pace of easing restrictions
- The Victorian government has announced $9.57 million for mental health as the strain of the latest outbreak is felt across the state
Authorities are still trying to figure out how the Reservoir household of four and two Victorians who who travelled to Queensland before testing positive were infected.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said recent genomic test results suggested both the interstate pair and the Reservoir household were infected with the Kappa strain circulating in the City of Whittlesea outbreak.
So far those cases' close contacts, who remain in quarantine, have tested negative.
For the first time since Victoria's outbreak was detected on May 24, Victoria recorded no new locally acquired cases on Thursday.
Professor Sutton said while a day with no cases was good news, it had only been 48 hours since the state had detected cases with "uncertain acquisitions".
"So the family that has travelled to Queensland and the Reservoir household are both still under investigations for exactly how it may have been acquired," he said.
"So that's a real lesson that we may yet see cases … a really strong reason for everyone to get tested."
Authorities still do not have a transmission chain linking a traveller who returned to Victoria last month to the West Melbourne cluster, which involves the Delta strain.
But Professor Sutton said being able to know the traveller arrived in the country on May 8 had helped narrow the timeframe of potential community transmission to just "a couple of weeks".
"We've had high testing numbers, including in the 50,000-range, over that period of time when we were looking for any other mystery cases," he said.
"So to have 300,000 tests in a week, or thereabouts, is very reassuring."
Outdoor mask rules for Melbourne will stay for now
While Melbourne's lockdown has lifted, heavy restrictions remain: no visitors in the home are allowed and Melburnians must wear a mask both indoors and outdoors as they move about within a 25-kilometre radius of their homes.
Professor Sutton said the mask rule would help reduce the risk of transmission, especially as people regularly moved in and out of indoor settings over the day.
"And transmission does happen outside," he said.
"The Rose Garden outside the White House in the US is a classic example of a superspreading event that happened outside."
ABC News: Stephanie Ferrier
)Acting Premier James Merlino said elective surgeries in Melbourne would resume from Tuesday next week, after all but the most urgent categories were put on hold during the lockdown.
He also said there would be a two-week amnesty period to help Victorian businesses ensure they had QR code check-ins in place, which are now mandatory.
Authorities listed more exposure sites across Melbourne's north overnight, including several supermarkets and a McDonald's drive-through.
Low testing numbers jeopardise reopening
There were 17,604 test results processed on Thursday, and 20,752 vaccination doses were delivered at state-run sites.
It is the second consecutive day that testing numbers have fallen and the second-lowest testing figure since the outbreak was detected.
Authorities have repeatedly warned that high testing numbers must be maintained in order for public health teams to have confidence in easing restrictions further next week.
Mr Merlino said testing results were particularly low in the city's outbreak-struck north around Craigieburn.
He said opening up would only be possible if every Victorian with symptoms got tested.
"Go and get tested, isolate at home until you get the negative result."
Professor Sutton said all Victorians may need to take around two or three COVID-19 tests this winter if the community was to get through without another major outbreak.
Opposition leader Michael O'Brien said the Victorian government had been cruel to small business owners who do not qualify for financial support from the lockdown.
To be eligible for government grants, businesses need to pay GST.
But registering to pay the tax is only necessary once a business earns over $75,000.
"It's cruel to say to somebody, you can't work but we're not going to help you through this period," he said.
"If the government's not going to let [them] work, the government at least owes it to [them] to compensate [them]."
Mental health hammered during Melbourne's fourth lockdown
At her wine bar in Carlton North, Carmel Pietromartire said she was "overjoyed" at the opportunity to reopen, and already had a number of online bookings for the weekend.
ABC News: Stephanie Ferrier
)"We just want to get up and going, I just want to continue trading," she said.
She said this time around, the mental health impact had hit "very hard" as she was still trying to bring her business back to health after the three lockdowns the city had endured since the pandemic began.
Mrs Pietromartire said the latest outbreak had deprived precincts like hers of CBD office workers who were just starting to trickle back into offices, and the density limits meant it would take "some time to get back on our feet".
"I just hope that we can all get through it and we all keep safe and we all care about one another and it's not dog eat dog and we just support one another through it," she said.
In recognition of the toll the restrictions have had on the mental health of Victorians, the state government today announced an additional $9.57 million to meet increased demand for services.
The government said the funding would provide more clinicians in youth mental health services, a boost to community services and more support for eating disorders, after the number and severity of presentations had increased during the pandemic.
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