- No new COVID-19 cases have been found in Victoria in the last 24 hours as the state takes on crucial testing and contact tracing following a positive case yesterday
- The new case spent a week in the community before returning a positive COVID-19 test result on Tuesday, May 11
- The man, who marks the first new COVID-19 case in Victoria in 73 days, had just spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in South Australia after returning to Australia from India in April
- Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said it is believed the man contracted the virus while in hotel quarantine in South Australia
- Encouragingly, the man’s three household contacts have all returned negative COVID-19 results so far
- Authorities are hopeful the man was not infectious while out in the community, but a list of Melbourne exposure sites has been released by the Victorian Department of Health
- No restrictions have been announced in the state following the case, though hundreds of people from near the exposure sites are being urged to get tested
No new COVID-19 cases have been found in Victoria in the last 24 hours as the state takes on crucial testing and contact tracing following a positive case yesterday.
A man from Wollert in Melbourne spent a week in the community before returning a positive COVID-19 test result this week. He marks the first local coronavirus case in Victoria in 73 days, though it’s likely he contracted the virus while in hotel quarantine in South Australia.
The man was a recent international traveller, returning to Australia from India in April. He travelled via the Maldives and Singapore.
He spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in South Australia upon arriving back in the country on April 9, then returned to his home in Melbourne on May 4. After developing symptoms a few days later, he returned a positive COVID-19 test on May 11.
While the infection is still being investigated, Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said it he believes it is “absolutely the case” that the man picked up the virus while quarantining in South Australia.
The news has exacerbated ongoing calls for a national review of Australia’s hotel quarantine system, which has been the catalyst for several local coronavirus infections over the past year.
A list of Melbourne exposure sites has been released by the Victorian government, with “tier one” sites including Curry Vault Indian Restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD, a Woolworths store in Epping, and the TIC group office in Altona North.
Second-tier sites include two Metro train services between 5:28 pm and 6:07 pm and between 10:20 pm and 11:05 pm on Friday, May 7.
The details of the journey have been announced on the Victorian Department of Health website, but anyone who was on one of the trains during this time — in any carriage — is being urged to get tested.
Updated exposure sites have been published online at https://t.co/SQ5trZH2NI
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 11, 2021
Two new Tier 2 sites are Metro Trains services.
If you caught any of the below services, you must isolate, get a coronavirus test, and stay isolated until negative:
[1/4] pic.twitter.com/CMhrpvxUzG
Further, anyone who was on Jetstar flight JQ771 that took the man from Adelaide to Melbourne is also being asked to get tested, though health authorities say it’s unlikely the man contracted the virus or infected anyone else from the flight.
Encouragingly, the man’s three household contacts have all returned negative COVID-19 results, and Victorian health authorities are hopeful he was not infectious while moving through his community over the past week.
Apart from urging those who passed through exposure sites to be tested and citizens to watch out for symptoms, Victoria is yet to implement any snap coronavirus restrictions following the new case.