Victoria was notified of 7 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All were locally acquired cases.
There are 205 active cases in Victoria -195 locally acquired and 10 overseas acquired cases.
There are seven COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. Two cases are in intensive care (including one case on a ventilator).
The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 20,939.
Update: Current restrictions
Restrictions were eased at 11.59pm on Tuesday 27 July. For more information on the latest COVIDSafe settings, visit COVIDSafe Settings.
Update: Outbreaks
There were 7 locally acquired cases yesterday with 6 in isolation for their entire infectious period and all 6 cases linked to the current outbreaks. Genomic testing results received today have confirmed that the one case announced as under investigation this morning is linked to the current outbreaks. Further work is underway to determine how the positive case acquired the virus.
The local public health unit in Gippsland has earlier today reported a new positive case in Bass Coast Shire and that the person has been in quarantine throughout their infectious period. This case will be reported in tomorrow’s case numbers.
Of the 7 locally acquired cases yesterday:
Four cases are students at Bacchus Marsh Grammar School who were in isolation and tested positive on their day 13 tests.
Two cases are household contacts of a previously identified positive case at the Lacrosse Apartments in Docklands.
One case, that was reported yesterday, is a traffic controller who worked at the Moonee Valley Racecourse COVID-19 testing site. The testing site remains closed today for deep cleaning. Work colleagues, household contacts and residents in an apartment complex in Newport have been contacted, are being tested and are in quarantine.
A number of exposures sites were listed on the Department’s website yesterday:
- Ritchies IGA Liquor on Moorooduc Hwy, Frankston
- Karingal Hub Shopping Centre, Frankston, including the Coles Supermarket
- United Petroleum in Baxter
- Chemist Warehouse in Baxter
- 7-Eleven in Yarraville
- Woolworths at Borrack Square, Altona North
Public health officials have conducted a risk assessment and put in place a resident support service at an apartment complex at 190 Riversdale Rd, Hawthorn. Due to a high risk of transmission, a section of the complex has been designated a Tier 1 site as a precaution. Residents exposed to that area will need to quarantine for 14 days. The remainder of the building has been designated a Tier 2 site. No positive cases are present in the building.
Significant testing and public health actions have been in place at the Lacrosse Apartments in Docklands since last Saturday when a positive case was identified as living in that building. Two household contacts of the initial case tested positive yesterday. They have been in quarantine during their infectious periods.
The apartments are a Tier one exposure site with around 500 people classified as primary close contacts who are in isolation for 14 days. Residents are being supported with food pick-up, other deliveries and in-apartment testing.
There are currently 13,000 Victorians still isolating as primary close contacts. Public health officials continue their work to clear primary close contacts as they end their period of isolation. More than 3600 primary close contacts were cleared yesterday and more than 10,000 have been cleared this week.
The Department reminds primary close contacts that a negative Day 13 test result is a requirement for clearance from quarantine. Clearance is formally provided by the Department in writing, following a phone call.
Household engagement teams, supported by 100 police officers this week, continue to visit homes across Victoria to ensure that people are isolating correctly and are well supported. Yesterday was a record day for household visits with 1,147 visits undertaken.
A full list of current exposure sites can be seen at Case alerts -public exposure sites.
The Department regularly manages exposure sites that it doesn’t publish online, particularly if these sites represent lower-risk exposures, or if they have comprehensive record-keeping and contact tracing measures, or if they identify small, private locations.
We continue to ask every Victorian to check exposure sites regularly, as they are subject to change based on follow-up interviews and further investigation.
COVID-19 wastewater detection in the Camberwell area
COVID-19 fragments have been detected in wastewater in the Camberwell area.
Suburbs in the catchment include Balwyn, Camberwell, Canterbury, Mont Albert and Surrey Hills.
The wastewater detection may be due to someone who has had COVID-19, is no longer infectious and is continuing to shed the virus -or it may be due to an active but undiagnosed case in that area.
Anyone who lives, works or has visited the above suburbs between 25-27 July is urged to watch for the slightest of COVID-19 symptoms and get tested as soon as possible if any symptoms develop.
The wastewater testing program is designed as an early warning system and a cautious approach is always taken when these detections are found.
The Department of Health has increased wastewater testing in the area and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
More information is available at Wastewater testing.
Update: Vaccinations
Yesterday, 19,118 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services.
More than 3.2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered throughout Victoria with 1,590,244 doses administered through state-run services.
Every week, more appointments are being opened up at state clinics across Victoria and people who are eligible to be vaccinated are encouraged to plan ahead and book as soon as they can.
The Commonwealth Government recently announced that people who are pregnant and aged 16 years and over are now eligible for COVID-19 vaccination and the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has recommended the Pfizer vaccine at any stage of pregnancy.
There are now 50 open access vaccination centres operating across Victoria and in the coming weeks and months there will be more pop-up community vaccination clinics in operation.
Victoria’s online booking system is now live at Book your vaccine
