Victorian health officials and senior government ministers are meeting tonight to discuss options for an extension of the seven-day lockdown as another positive case was revealed.
Key points:
- Concerns about the spread of the virus by "fleeting contact" prompted the rethink
- Professor Brett Sutton said health officials will have to re-examine the exposure sites with that in mind
- Health officials are racing to isolate the contacts of a new positive case who travelled to NSW
The rapid spread of the Indian variant, including the transmission of the virus through "fleeting contact", has authorities deeply worried, increasing the likelihood of some form of extension.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has described the virus as "an absolute beast".
"Because it has moved faster than any other strain we've dealt with, and we're seeing transmission in settings and circumstances we've never seen before," he said.
"This means we're to having to re-examine exposure sites — more than 300 of them — with this more contagious strain in mind."
No decision has been made yet on any extension.
"We can't underestimate this challenge. We are trying to do something nobody has had to do before — drive down the most challenging variant we've ever seen," Professor Sutton said.
"And we're doing it with a largely unvaccinated population."
The talks came as Victorian health officials revealed another newly-identified positive case.
The individual from Victoria travelled to New South Wales and then returned to Melbourne on May 24.
Contact tracers are urgently working with New South Wales Health to test, trace and isolate close contacts.
Exposure sites include the Victorian towns of Euroa, Glenrowan and Wallan as well as Melbourne's CBD, and Jervis Bay and Goulburn in NSW.
Full details of the times and all of the exposure sites in Victoria can be found on the health department's website.
The NSW exposure sites are listed on NSW Health's website.
Worrying examples of transmission with limited contact
The snap lockdown was due to end at 11:59pm on Thursday, but as cases have continued to rise and a list of high-risk exposure sites has ballooned, health officials have made clear it is a "day-by-day proposition".
The state recorded nine locally acquired cases on Monday —including six flagged during Monday's press conference and three more confirmed today —taking the outbreak to 54 cases.
Of the three new cases, two are primary close contacts of other cases.
ABC News
)But how the third case became infected was still under investigation.
Jeroen Weimar, the state's COVID-19 response commander, expressed concerns that there had been evidence of four or five cases where transmission had happened between strangers.
"They are all examples of transmission with very limited contact," he said.
"These are quite different and it's a much more fleeting contact."
Victorians will be told 'as soon as a decision is made': Foley
Earlier today, Health Minister Martin Foley said health officials were not yet in a position to make a call about extending the lockdown.
"I can guarantee that as soon as a decision is made, that Victorians, businesses and the wider community will be brought into the confidence of that as quickly as possible," Mr Foley said.
The team is weighing up the infectiousness of the variant and the risk posed by possible unlinked cases, when calculating if the restrictions could be lifted.
Mr Weimar said Victoria's outbreak was certainly the fastest-moving outbreak in some time.
"I'm confident we're doing everything that we possibly can to get on top of it," he said.
"As we saw yesterday, you are only one positive test away from having to go down a whole rabbit hole."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiXGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA2LTAxL3ZpY3Rvcmlhbi10YWxrcy11bmRlcndheS10by1leHRlbmQtbG9ja2Rvd24vMTAwMTgzMDM40gEoaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEwMDE4MzAzOA?oc=5
2021-06-01 09:16:02Z
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