| 8 August 2021
11 | 0 | 2 | 100 | 0 | 38,179 | 8,532,986 |
Cases locally acquired | Cases acquired interstate | Cases acquired overseas | Active cases | Lives lost | Tests processed yesterday | Total tests since pandemic began |
3,146,191 | 3,558 | 2.47 |
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 13 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. 11 are locally acquired cases - two are returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
There are 100 active cases in Victoria – 96 locally acquired and four overseas acquired cases.
There are six COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. One case is in intensive care.
The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 21,010.
Update: Outbreaks
Today’s 11 new locally acquired cases are all linked to existing cases, but the source of these outbreaks remains under investigation.
Four of the new cases are students from Al Taqwa College.
Three are household contacts of a confirmed case from the Wolf Café in Altona North.
One is a team member of Newport Football Club.
Three are linked to CS Square Shopping Centre in Caroline Springs. Two of those cases work at the Jolly Miller Café, which is close to the Spectacle Hub. One works at a real estate agency where no known case has been present – but this new case did attend a number of exposure sites within the venue.
CS Square in Caroline Springs will be assessed by public health teams and the current Tier 2 listing between 12:35pm and 1:30pm on 4 August may be expanded to take in more hours and days.
All other residents on Level 17 of 130 Racecourse Rd have tested negative on their initial test. Approximately 200 tests were processed yesterday among residents on other floors.
The Department thanks cohealth, IPC Health, the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing, Homes Victoria, Moonee Valley Council – as well as Foodbank, Red Cross, and Empowered.
There are now more than 9300 primary close contacts across Victoria.
Approximately 450 household visits were conducted by household engagement teats yesterday.
Please check the website for all exposures sites and the dates and times of exposure at: https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/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 – 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.
COVID-19 wastewater detections in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria
As advised yesterday, a number of strong, repeat detections in the Glenroy-Broadmeadows area indicate that it is likely there are 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 were 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, 17,360 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services.
The total number of doses administered through these services is 1,778,109.
Victorians aged between 18 and 39 can now attend a state-run vaccination centre to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine should they provide informed consent.
Children aged between 12 to 15 can also receive the Pfizer vaccine if they are eligible.
There are now 50 open access vaccination centres operating across Victoria.
Victoria’s newest vaccination centre is Australia’s first drive-through hub, in Melton.
The Department thanks Bunnings for their generosity and contribution to this important public health program.
For more information, visit https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/victoria-expands-access-astra-zeneca-state-centres.
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
A total of 38,179 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.
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.
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 - 8 August 2021.pdf [Word, 145893 Bytes]
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