| 7 August 2021
29 | 0 | 0 | 97 | 0 | 43,618 | 8,494,807 |
Cases locally acquired | Cases acquired interstate | Cases acquired overseas | Active cases | Lives lost | Tests processed yesterday | Total tests since pandemic began |
3,142,633 | 4,947 | 3.44 |
Number of permits issued
(Jan 11 – 7am today) | Number of permit applications processed in the past 24 hours | Average # of permits issued per minute in the past 24 hours |
Victoria was notified of 29 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All are locally acquired cases.
There are 97 active cases in Victoria – 95 locally acquired and two overseas acquired cases.
There are seven COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. Two cases are in intensive care and both are on ventilators.
The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 20,997.
Update: Current restrictions
Victoria entered a state-wide lockdown for seven days from 8:00pm, Thursday 5 August. For more information https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/seven-day-lockdown-keep-victorians-safe.
Update: Outbreaks
Today’s 29 new locally acquired cases are all connected to existing clusters but the source of these outbreaks remains under investigation.
There are two clusters of active community outbreaks – the City of Hobsons Bay community outbreak and the City of Maribyrnong outbreak with a total of 38 cases across both chains of transmission.
Genomic testing has determined both of these outbreaks are the Delta variant of COVID-19 as are closely associated with recent clusters in NSW and Victoria. Further genomics and other investigative work are underway to try to pinpoint the exact source of infection for the original cases in these clusters.
Of today’s new cases:
There are 25 new cases linked to the City of Hobson’s Bay outbreak:
17 cases are linked to Al Taqwa College in Truganina
Four cases are linked to the Spectacle Hub in Caroline Springs.
One case is a family member of the original case.
One case is a player from the Newport Football Club.
One case attended the Australian Islamic Centre Library in Newport.
One case attended the Wolf Café and Eatery in Altona North.
There are four new cases are linked to the City of Maribyrnong outbreak.
All are family contacts of the initial case.
The Department of Health was notified yesterday of positive cases from the City of Hobsons Bay outbreak who live in a public housing tower in Flemington. All of these cases have been relocated offsite.
A significant public health response is underway with welfare, support and testing services now on site. One floor of the complex has been designated a Tier one exposure site and all residents on that floor are required to get tested and isolate for 14 days. Anyone else in the building who has been in contact with the positive cases will be designated a primary close contact and will be required to get tested and isolate for 14 days, as will anyone who lives with them. The rest of the building is a Tier two exposure site at this stage meaning these residents must isolate, get tested and remain isolated until they get a negative test result.
There are now more than 5500 primary close contacts across Victoria, including 3500 associated with the new outbreaks, and more than 8000 red zone permit holders in isolation. Public health officials cleared 433 primary close contacts yesterday from earlier outbreaks.
There were 313 welfare and compliance visits by authorised officers to people in isolation yesterday.
Update: Exposure sites
These are now more than 100 exposure sites in Victoria with the majority being in the western suburbs.
Please check the website for all exposures sites and the dates and times of exposure at: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites Exposure sites will be updated on the website as they are identified.
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 – including smaller apartment or townhouse complexes.
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.
Three more COVID-19 wastewater detections in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria
There have been more COVID-19 fragment detections in wastewater samples that were confirmed last night. One location is in metropolitan Melbourne and two are in regional Victoria.
There have been six wastewater detections, including another last night, indicating strong and increasing levels of COVID-19 fragments in the Glenroy-Broadmeadows area and surrounding suburbs.
The number of repeat detections and the strength of these detections in the Glenroy-Broadmeadows area indicate that it is likely there are as yet undetected positive cases of COVID-19 in that catchment.
This catchment includes the following suburbs: Attwood, Broadmeadows, Campbellfield, Coolaroo, Essendon Fields, Gladstone Park, Glenroy, Gowanbrae, Greenvale, Jacana, Meadows Heights, Oak Park, Pascoe Vale, Roxburgh Park, Somerton, Strathmore, Strathmore Heights, Tullamarine and Westmeadows.
Anyone who lives, works or has visited the above suburbs between 28 July and 6 August is urged to watch for the slightest of COVID-19 symptoms and get tested as soon as possible if any symptoms develop.
In regional Victoria, there have been new, unexpected wastewater detections in Benalla and Healesville.
The Healesville detection impacts the towns of Badger Creek, Coldstream and Healesville.
Anyone who lives, works or has visited Benalla between 3 and 5 August and Healesville between 1 and 5 August is urged to watch for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested should symptoms develop.
These detections 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.
Recent wastewater detections in Victoria have been an early warning signal of positive cases appearing in areas, such as Bacchus Marsh and Phillip Island, so people in areas with recent wastewater detections need to be especially vigilant in getting tested should they develop even the mildest of symptoms.
In the past month in regional Victoria, positive readings for COVID-19 wastewater fragments have been detected in Bacchus Marsh, Bendigo, Black Rock, Koorlong, Somers and Wangaratta.
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 areas listed above and will continue to monitor the situation closely.
More information is available at: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/wastewater-testing-covid-19
Update: Vaccinations
Yesterday, 22,335 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services.
The total number of doses administered through these services is 1,760,610.
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.
The Department has established a pilot pop-up vaccination program at Al-Taqwa College for members of that school community. Staff, students and any family members who have been invited to test at the site will be offered the option of getting vaccinated. If you are not a member of the school community, you will not get vaccinated at this site. We ask that respect be shown to our staff members and support personnel onsite.
Victoria’s online booking system is now live at: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/book-your-vaccine-appointment or you can ring the coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398.
Information about Victoria’s vaccination centres can be found at https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccination-centres.
Update: Testing
In a strong day for testing, a total of 43,618 tests were processed in Victoria yesterday.
See new and extended testing sites, where to get tested and expected wait times at https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/where-get-tested-covid-19.
Border bubble with NSW
Changes to the border bubble arrangements with NSW are in effect. The 7-day state-wide lockdown also applies to Victorian border communities.
To see permitted reasons to travel and answers to frequently asked questions, visit https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/information-cross-border-communities
Warning over scam SMS messages
The Department has been alerted to a scam SMS message being sent to Victorians.
The scam message claims to be from Melbourne Pathology and states the receiver has tested positive to COVID-19.
If you do test positive to COVID-19, the Department does not send you a text message. Public health officials will call you and give you appropriate advice regarding isolation and your next steps.
If you receive a SMS message claiming you have tested positive, ignore it. The Department does send text messages to people who test negative or get a “not detected” result but does not advise positive results via text.
General advice
COVID-19 symptoms include fever, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath and loss or change in sense of smell or taste. If you are experiencing symptoms, wear a fitted face mask when you get tested.
For more information call the 24-hour Coronavirus Hotline at 1800 675 398 or visit https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au
Media enquiries: Department of Health Media Unit (03) 9096 8860 or press@dhhs.vic.gov.au
Media Release Attachment - CHO release - COVID-19 - 7 August 2021.pdf [Word, 177833 Bytes]
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