Victorian authorities have confirmed a person who contracted coronavirus in the state has been placed into intensive care, as the state battles the highly infectious Indian variant.
The state recorded 11 new cases on Thursday and will enter a seven-day circuit day breaker lockdown.
Victorian acting premier James Merlino said that the person in ICU was “not in a good way”.
“In the last day, we have seen 12 linked new cases, bringing the total number of cases linked to the hotel quarantine breach in South Australia to 26,” he said.
“Sadly, we have one of those people in an ICU, on a ventilator, in not a very good way.
“In the last day, we‘ve seen more evidence we’re dealing with a highly infectious strain of the virus, a variant of concern, which is running faster than we have ever recorded.”
Health Minister Martin Foley said that the patient in ICU was one of the first cases from the outbreak and an “elderly person”.
He confirmed that they had not had the vaccine despite being over the age of 50.
“We send our best wishes to that family, and we send our prayers for a quick recovery,” he said.
The government has identified a long list of exposure sites while more than 10,000 primary and secondary contacts will need to either quarantine or test and isolate.
There is now significant concern about how fast the variant is moving, with the time between catching the virus and passing it on narrowing from five days to one.
“We‘ve seen overseas how difficult that movement can be to control. Here in Victoria, we’re seeing not only how quick it is, but how contagious it is as well,” Mr Merlino said.
“The number of cases has doubled in 24 hours. Unless something drastic happens, this will become increasingly uncontrollable.”
The state will enter the seven day lockdown from midnight, with only grocery shopping, authorised work and permitted education, exercise, caregiving and vaccination allowed as reasons to leave the home.
Victorians must not travel 5km outside their homes and masks must be worn indoors and outdoors.
No visitors are allowed in the home, but there will be single bubbles and exceptions on visiting an intimate partner.
Hospitality businesses are now only allowed to offer takeaway.
The state has also expanded its vaccination program in an attempt to combat the spread of the virus.
Mr Merlino said from Friday, vaccinations at state sites would be expanded to include residents over the age of 40, who will be eligible to receive the Pfizer or AstraZeneca vaccines.
“If you’re eligible, get vaccinated,” he said.
“If we had an alternative to hotel quarantine for this particular variant of concern, we would not be here today.
“If we had the vaccine, the Commonwealth‘s vaccine program effectively rolled out, we may well not be here today.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMilAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC92aWN0b3JpYS9uZXdzL3ZpY3Rvcmlhbi1jb3ZpZDE5LXBhdGllbnQtcGxhY2VkLWluLWljdS1wdXQtb24tdmVudGlsYXRvci9uZXdzLXN0b3J5LzY2OGFhMzliYjk5M2IzNGI0NTk1YTdmYmIyZWU4Yzhh0gGUAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLm5ld3MuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL25ld3MvdmljdG9yaWFuLWNvdmlkMTktcGF0aWVudC1wbGFjZWQtaW4taWN1LXB1dC1vbi12ZW50aWxhdG9yL25ld3Mtc3RvcnkvNjY4YWEzOWJiOTkzYjM0YjQ1OTVhN2ZiYjJlZThjOGE?oc=5
2021-05-27 01:43:00Z
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