Regional Victoria comes out of lockdown as state records 20 new local cases - The Age

Regional Victorians have greeted their first morning out of the state’s sixth lockdown as health authorities recorded 20 new locally acquired cases on Tuesday.

The department confirmed the cases are all linked to the known outbreak but just five have been in quarantine throughout their infectious period.

Authorities received almost 35,000 test results and almost 23,000 doses of vaccine were administered across the state.

The new cases come as Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday that Melburnians will have to achieve consecutive days with all new coronavirus cases in isolation for their entire infectious period before lockdown is lifted.

Mr Andrews said the most important trigger to lift stage four restrictions would be the number of new cases who had been infectious in the community. Prominent epidemiologists say the public health team will also be focused on exposure sites, high testing rates and wastewater detection.

“We’re still chasing [these outbreaks] very hard,” Mr Andrews said. “We’re not out in front of this yet, I think we’re running alongside it, but we’re not yet in front of this particular outbreak.”

Premier Daniel Andrews announced lockdown would be lifted in regional Victoria from 11.59pm on Monday. Credit:Paul Jeffers

University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely welcomed the Victorian government’s decision to lift regional restrictions from 11.59pm on Monday.

Professor Blakely said one of the challenges of locking down regional Victoria, where there have been no cases, was that governments would be “damned if you do, and damned if you don’t”. He also pinpointed what would be needed for the sixth lockdown to be lifted.

“Victoria needs to get to ... two to three days of zero cases of COVID-positive people in the community for any part of their infectious period,” Professor Blakely said.

The Premier is on the same wavelength. “We need to get down to a very low number of cases, if any, that have been out in the community during their infectious period,” Mr Andrews said. “That’s when we’ll have the best chance of opening up and staying open.”

The head of Monash University’s epidemiology team, James Trauer, said Victoria’s rapid return to lockdown last week showed the government had not managed the exit from the last one correctly.

Associate Professor Trauer said a more gradual release out of this lockdown should include holding off on non-essential retail and possibly the “higher risk” sector of hospitality, “though I know how much hospitality is hurting”.

“It may be that we should hold on for a few more days with our lockdown than may appear necessary to give ourselves that guarantee the virus is eliminated,” he said.

Burnet Institute infectious diseases expert Suman Majumdar said health authorities would be aiming for no new mystery cases, high testing rates and no positive sewage tests in areas where the virus is not known to be.

Victorian health authorities listed nine new exposure sites since 9.55pm last night, including two shopping centres in Melbourne’s north-west.

The Watergardens Town Centre, also known as the Watergardens Shopping Centre, was visited by a positive case on August 5 and 7. Lucia’s Euro Deli and Woolworths are now both tier-2 exposure sites on August 7, and The Good Guys on August 5.

The Bunnings in Taylors Lakes has also been listed by the health department on August 5 as a tier-2.

Four sites in Cairnlea, also in Melbourne’s north-west, were also listed, including Liquorland Cairnlea on August 6 and 7, which are both tier 2, and the Cairnlea Town Centre, a shopping centre with which is now a tier-3 site, also on August 6 and 7.

An aerial view of Melbourne’s new drive-through vaccination centre in Melton. Credit:Getty Images

Across town, a case also visited Rapid Laser, in Bayswater North, in Melbourne’s east, which is now listed as a tier-1 site on August 5.

The Victorian Health Department requires that anyone who has visited a tier-2 site during the relevant period should urgently get tested, then isolate until confirmation of a negative result. They should also continue to monitor for symptoms, get tested again if symptoms appear.

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Regional Victoria comes out of lockdown as state records 20 new local cases - The Age
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