Victorian DHHS officials have released a list of potential exposure sites covering a broad range of locations in the city’s north following Melbourne’s first confirmed community COVID case in over 70 days.
Earlier, a man in his 30s was confirmed to have returned a positive COVID test yesterday after developing symptoms on May 8th. The man is believed to have returned from overseas and engaged in hotel quarantine in South Australia, before leaving and returning to Victoria on May 4th.
The man is isolating at home while further tests are conducted, and his immediate family members are also in isolation and being tested as primary close contacts.
In addition, the DHHS has released a list of exposure sites to the public. This includes both Tier 1 locations, where visitors are required to test and isolate for 14 days, and Tier 2 sites, where visitors are asked to get tested and isolate until a negative result is returned.
The list of exposure sites, and the relevant dates and times, is as follows:
TIER 1 – Immediately isolate, get tested, and self-quarantine for 14 days
- TIC Group (Front Office), 232 Blackshaws Rd, Altona North – Thursday May 6, all day
- Curry Vault Indian Restaurant and Bar, 18-20 Bank Places, Melbourne CBD – Friday May 6, 6:30pm to 9:30pm
- Indiagate Spices and Groceries, Unit 14C/560-590 High St, Epping – Saturday May 8, 5:00pm to 6:00pm
- Woolworths Epping – Saturday May 8, 5:40pm to 6:38pm
TIER 2 – Immediately isolate, get tested and stay isolated until negative result received
- TIC Group (rear warehouse section), 232 Blackshaws Rd, Altona North – Thursday May 6, all day
- 7Eleven, 705 High St, Epping – Thursday May 6, 6:30pm to 7:00pm
- 7Eleven, 705 High St, Epping – Saturday May 8, 11:10am to 11:40am
Additional exposure sites may be added to the list in the coming hours and days as DHHS investigations continue.
Speaking to media a short time ago, Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton stated that the man likely contracted coronavirus at the very end of his stay in hotel quarantine, and may have been infectious for the 48 hours prior to the onset of his symptoms.
“I think it’s absolutely the case he’s picked it up in quarantine in South Australia. We think the onset of symptoms were on the eighth [of May] so he would have been infectious for 48 hours prior to that,” Sutton stated.
Victorian Health Minister and Acting Premier Martin Foley stated that the Federal Government must include provisions for improved quarantine facilities in tonight’s budget.
“There is no such thing as a foolproof hotel quarantine facility, which is why this evening’s national budget is a golden opportunity for the Commonwealth to step up and do its constitutional duty and fund, with the states, a quarantine facility such as that proposed by Victoria,” said Foley.
We’ll see how that goes.
