Victorians have breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday, as health authorities confirmed no new cases of coronavirus had been recorded overnight.
The state’s COVID-free streak was broken on Tuesday when a man in his 30s tested positive for the virus just days after leaving hotel quarantine in South Australia.
He flew into Adelaide from India via the Maldives and Singapore on April 19 before Australia’s flight ban began.
Tweet from @VicGovDH
A flurry of contact tracing kicked off, with ‘Tier 1’, ‘Tier 2’ and ‘Tier 3’ exposure sites listed, each with differing isolation rules.
Anyone who had attended a ‘Tier 1’ venue was advised to immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days.
Those who had been in Tier 2 sites were told to get tested and isolate only until a negative test result is received, while ‘Tier 3’ must monitor for symptoms.
On Wednesday it was revealed the man had travelled to some of the city’s busiest train stations while infectious with COVID-19.
Commuters who hopped on the Craigieburn-to-Southern Cross service at 5.28pm on Friday, and Flinders Street to Craigieburn service at 10.20pm that same day were urged to get tested and isolate until a negative result is returned.
The full list of exposure sites is available here.
The full list of testing sites is available here.
It is expected that Victorians could return to tighter COVID-19 restrictions if evidence emerges that the man infected others in the community.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley will give an update on Wednesday morning.
Mr Foley has earlier expressed disappointment the federal budget did not appear to provide any funding for the quarantine facility that Victoria wants built north of Melbourne.
COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar has warned against complacency after it became evident that not everyone who attended a tier one exposure site had checked in using the QR code.
The owner of the Curry Vault Indian restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD thought there were 30 to 40 people at his restaurant on Friday night – but did not have details for all of them.
“Based on information provided, we think there are likely to be more people in that restaurant than are on the QR code system at the moment. But we don’t know who they are,” Mr Weimar said.
“That’s why it’s so important that we all maintain the basic behaviours.
“Wear a mask in public transport and in taxis and when you can’t isolate, use the QR system wherever you go.”
South Australian authorities are examining whether the positive case contracted the virus before arrival and had an unusually long incubation period, or caught it from a person with the virus in a neighbouring hotel room.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton suspects the man picked it up in the hotel, not India or on his international flights.
All three of his household contacts have already returned negative test results, which Professor Sutton described as an “early encouraging sign”.
-with agencies
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