The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) listed a bunch of exposure sites along Melbourne’s Bourke St after someone went shopping before testing positive for COVID in South Australia
The person was an aged-care worker who had previously tested positive for COVID-19 in August, while working in Victoria. They then tested positive in South Australia on November 9, as part of entry screening processes.
The exposure sites listed are: The Craigeburn line between Glenroy Station and Flinders Street Station, H&M, Cotton On Body, Chemist Warehouse, Touch of Asia (Glenroy) (on November 8) and Tullamarine Melbourne Airport (on November 10).
UPDATED: Exposure sites
📍 Craigieburn line inbound between Glenroy Station and Flinders Street Station (8/11, 1.45pm-2.15pm)
📍 H&M, 350 Bourke Street Melbourne (8/11, 3pm-3.50pm)
📍 Cotton On Body, 211 La Trobe Street Melbourne (8/11, 3.55pm-4.40pm)(1/4) pic.twitter.com/3qxGoP7JVf
— Victorian Department of Health (@VicGovDH) November 12, 2020
According to the DHHS, the case is not considered active as the positive result was most likely due to “shedding.”
So what does shedding actually mean? In an explainer by the ABC, they said it’s the part of the virus’ life cycle when the infected person’s body starts to rid itself of the virus.
Research has found that even after the contagious period ends, some people can continue to shed remnants of COVID-19.
“As an analogy, if you find a balaclava and gloves in your house, does it still mean there’s a criminal inside? Perhaps not — it could be just the remnants of their clothing that they’ve left behind,” Marc Pellegrini, the head of the infection and immunity division at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research told ABC Radio.
“You may well have recovered and there are some remnants or a genetic footprint [showing] that the virus has been there, but it’s not actually infectious virus.”
Even though the case is not being treated as active, the DHHS is still asking anyone who visited any of the exposure sites they listed to seek medical testing, if they show symptoms.
Today is the 12th straight day that Victoria has recorded zero daily new cases or deaths.
The rolling 14-day average of new cases in Melbourne per day has fallen to 0.3 and regional Victoria is zero.
Yesterday there were 0 new cases and 0 lives lost. There were 20,819 tests received – thank you, Victoria #EveryTestHelps. There are 3 active cases, 1 with unknown source. #StaySafeStayOpen https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/Mnr3DhYGAW
— Victorian Department of Health (@VicGovDH) November 11, 2020
So, despite this little hiccup, things are still going pretty smoothly. Keep up the great work, Victoria!
