A class of year two children in Victoria has been placed into quarantine for a fortnight after a student tested positive to coronavirus.
Key points:
- All classmates of the student at Holy Eucharist Primary School who tested positive will go into quarantine for two weeks
- The cluster at Keilor Downs increased by three to 11
- Four new cases of COVID-19 were identified at the Rydges on Swanston hotel in Melbourne's CBD
The student was in close contact with a person linked to a family cluster in Keilor Downs in Melbourne's west, including a student at Keilor Downs Secondary College.
The cluster increased by three overnight to a total of 11.
One of the three new cases included a student from Holy Eucharist Primary School in St Albans South.
The student was at school on Tuesday, May 26 but was not displaying symptoms and was tested on Thursday after being in close contact with a family member from Keilor Downs.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said about 30 students from the primary school were in self-isolation for 14 days.
Holy Eucharist Primary School is expected to reopen on Monday.
Professor Sutton said transmission of coronavirus in schools is very unusual and he does not expect any more cases at this school.
"We haven't had children infect adults in school settings and transmission between children is pretty unusual and for an asymptomatic child, I think the risk is probably even less," he said.
He said he was confident the community cases being found were "all that's out there."
There was a steady stream of cars filing through a drive-through clinic set up at the Keilor Library.
Professor Sutton urged anyone with even mild symptoms, including runny nose, sore throat and cough and fever to get tested.
"You can stay in your car, get a swab at the back of the nose and get a result within a couple of days," he said.
Anyone with symptoms has been told to go to a testing clinic at Sunshine Hospital.
Professor Sutton said he was confident schools "will function normally" into the future and did not expect outbreaks or clusters at schools.
Keilor Downs Secondary College is expected to reopen on Monday or Tuesday.
Students from Taylors Lakes and St Albans secondary schools attended a VET class with the Keilor Downs student last Tuesday.
Two other cases linked to the Keilor Downs outbreak are close contacts of an existing case.
The total number of cases of COVID-19 in Victoria rose by 11 overnight to 1,645.
Cases at hotel increase to six
The number of cases linked to an outbreak at the Rydges on Swanston, in Melbourne's CBD has risen by four taking the total number of cases linked to the hotel to six.
Professor Sutton said an outbreak management squad was on-site investigating.
"The investigation will be ongoing and they will be providing additional training and education on PPE for all of the staff who are supporting that site and they'll look into what has potentially happened here to allow the transmission to occur," Professor Sutton said.
"There will be a thorough review of all processes; how cleaning has been managed; how personal protective equipment has been managed; how all the cases in that hotel are managed.
"The staff there have all been tested so there might be additional cases if people become symptomatic and get retested."
The hotel is not open to the public.
Huge logistical exercise caring for travellers
Thirteen overseas travellers and three close contacts are currently in quarantine at the hotel.
Professor Sutton said they do not know how the virus spread to staff.
"But obviously these are staff who are working in a site where there are a number of infected individuals," he said.
"We have to work on the presumption that they picked it up there through some mechanism.
"Whether it's been through surfaces, or personal protective equipment not being used appropriately."
Of the 11 new cases in Victoria since yesterday, two were detected in returned overseas travellers who are in quarantine and two other cases are under investigation.
Professor Sutton said over 12,000 people have gone through quarantine in Victoria with 100 confirmed cases of COVID-19.
"It's a huge logistical exercise," he said.
"They need their meals delivered, some of them need medical or compassionate exemptions to leave the hotel for a period of time or discharged into hospital or other care," he said.
Professor Sutton said he was waiting on the findings of the outbreak management team.
"They will go through a really thorough process to see what's happened and they'll report back on any findings they have."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA1LTMwL3ZpY3RvcmlhLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNhc2VzLXJpc2UtYnktMTEta2VpbG9yLWRvd25zLW91dGJyZWFrLWdyb3cvMTIyOTgzNDTSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTIyOTgzNDQ?oc=5
2020-05-30 02:46:13Z
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