Melburnians will still be required to wear masks outdoors once the city's lockdown lifts at 11:59pm, as health authorities investigate the source of infection for four new local cases.
Key points:
- The four cases are all from the same Reservoir household in Melbourne's north
- Recent exposure sites have been listed across Thomastown, Bundoora and Reservoir
- Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said easing of restrictions after tomorrow may need to be more gradual
Acting Premier James Merlino has this morning confirmed the eased restrictions outlined yesterday will go ahead with just the one "small exception".
"Masks will continue to be required to be worn outdoors in all circumstances," he said.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said masks had proven to be effective at limiting the risk of spread.
"It's just a small thing we can do to help prevent infection as everything else starts to move again," he said.
On Wednesday, Mr Merlino said he hoped to end the metro-regional divide in Victoria next Friday and see a substantial easing of restrictions.
ABC News: Darryl Torpy
)But Professor Cheng said that would depend on the trajectory of the outbreak.
"Depending on how things go in the next week … it is very much a day-by-day proposition," he said.
Race to understand how four new cases were infected
Victorian health authorities are still investigating the source of infection for the four local COVID-19 cases recorded on Wednesday.
The four cases are all from one household and were detected from 23,679 test results processed on Wednesday.
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)Professor Cheng said the four cases lived in Reservoir and were not identified as close contacts of previous cases and had so far not given a history of being at exposure sites.
He offered the following breakdown of the cases:
- Man in his 80s: Tested on Tuesday and a positive result received on Wednesday
- Woman in her 70s, man in 50s and man in 20s: All tested positive on Wednesday
Authorities have listed a Coles supermarket and other stores across Thomastown, Bundoora and Reservoir in Melbourne's north as Tier 2 exposure sites for Monday and Tuesday of this week.
Professor Cheng said authorities had already tested several of their close contacts, who had so far returned negative results, but would continue to quarantine.
He said one of the cases received the disability pension and another case provided in-home care to a separate person with a disability, who had so far tested negative to the virus.
He said the major concern with the Reservoir household was the "upstream" risk of the case that infected them, rather than them passing the infection on to someone else.
Professor Cheng said it was not yet clear which variant the four people had and there were no theories yet on how they could have become infected, but noted their relative proximity to the City of Whittlesea outbreak nearby.
Cases who travelled interstate had been near Craigieburn exposure site
Professor Cheng said two other cases detected interstate, a man and a woman who travelled to New South Wales and Queensland while infectious, appeared to have left their Melbourne home early on June 1 to travel north.
"While we can't pinpoint the source of these infections, we're aware that one of these cases had checked in near the Craigieburn Central shopping centre on the 23rd of May," he said.
Professor Cheng said the fact that they had been able to identify a possible link to Craigieburn within hours of learning about them — and before they had had a chance to interview them — highlighted the value of QR code check-ins.
Mr Merlino said the couple, who were from Melton, were not in breach of public health directions if they were relocating to the Sunshine Coast.
But Victoria's COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said that did not mean they were exempt from the rules.
"Anyone who wants to relocate also has to be compliant with restrictions in other states," Mr Weimar said.
He said that was the precise reason why stay at home orders were put in place — so that the virus didn't move around interstate.
No answers yet on Delta outbreak as restrictions ease
Professor Cheng said authorities were continuing their investigation into how the Delta strain jumped from a returned traveller from Sri Lanka into the community to start the West Melbourne outbreak.
No link has been found yet, but he indicated authorities had largely ruled out the theory that the traveller was infectious after his stay in hotel quarantine, based on serology testing and negative results from close contacts.
He said upstream testing of contacts of the two families at the centre of the West Melbourne outbreak had also not yielded a link.
"While there are still a few tests that are to come back, we're not coming up with a transmission path between this case in hotel quarantine and either of the families," he said.
"So while it's the judgement of the public health team that we are in a position to ease restrictions, these new cases are really the strongest reminder that we are by no means out of the woods yet.
"As I've said before, once we get down to small numbers, what happens next is very dependent on who those last cases are, what they do and how infectious they are."
Professor Cheng again urged Victorians to get tested if they had even the slightest symptoms.
"Please get tested as soon as possible, don't delay, every hour matters for the contact tracers," he said.
Bendigo residents urged to be on high alert for symptoms
Last night, Victorian health authorities said they were still detecting COVID-19 fragments in wastewater samples in Bendigo's north-west, where there are no confirmed COVID-19 cases.
While it could be someone shedding the virus, it could also be an undiagnosed but active case.
ABC Central Victoria: Tim Purdie
)COVID-19 fragments were detected in the area last week and testing was ramped up, but no positive cases were discovered.
Authorities have issued a specific alert for visitors between June 3-7 in California Gully, Eaglehawk, Epsom, Huntly, Jackass Flat, Maiden Gully, Marong, North Bendigo and Sailors Gully to get tested if they have even the slightest symptoms.
A destructive storm has hit Victoria in the past day, resulting in emergency evacuation orders being declared due to flooding at Traralgon in the state's east.
The weather has resulted in several COVID-19 testing sites being suspended, with the latest information available on the Department of Health website.
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