| 20 August 2021
55 | 0 | 2 | 349 | 0 | 48,273 | 8,999,759 |
Cases locally acquired | Cases acquired interstate | Cases acquired overseas | Active cases | Lives lost | Tests processed yesterday | Total tests since pandemic began |
3,337,390 | 11,074 | 7.69 |
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 57 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. 55 were locally acquired cases and two cases were in recently returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
There are 349 active cases in Victoria – 346 locally acquired and three overseas acquired cases.
There are 15 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. Six cases are in intensive care and one case is on a ventilator.
The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 21,328.
Update: Outbreaks
Of the 55 new locally acquired cases, 25 cases were in quarantine throughout their infectious period. 49 cases are linked to known outbreaks.
The locally acquired cases are:
· 14 cases are linked to Al-Taqwa College households – these are the result of day 13 testing of primary close contacts.
· 13 cases are linked to MyCentre Childcare in Broadmeadows.
· Six cases are linked to the City of Port Phillip / St Kilda community outbreak.
· Four cases are linked to the Newport Football Club outbreak.
· Four cases are linked to the Central Park Pizza in Malvern East.
· Three cases are linked to the Glenroy West Primary School outbreak.
· Two cases are linked to the Newport community outbreak.
· Two cases are contacts of a previously reported case from Altona North.
· One case is linked to residential housing towers at 510 Lygon St, Carlton.
· Six cases are not currently linked to known outbreaks and are under investigation. These cases reside in Tullamarine, Pakenham, Point Cook, Doncaster East, Port Melbourne and Brunswick.
A public health response is underway in Shepparton after the discovery of a positive case there this morning. Eleven additional cases have also been reported this afternoon. These new cases will be recorded in tomorrow’s numbers. The household contacts are in isolation and St Mel’s Primary School in Shepparton has been closed for deep cleaning. Other close contacts are being identified and will be asked to isolate and get tested. Residents of and visitors to Shepparton are urged to regularly go to our website and look for new exposure sites as they are posted. There have been three COVID-19 wastewater fragment detections in Shepparton over the past fortnight.
In the current outbreak, the age profile of positive cases is younger than it has been for previous outbreaks. Of the current active cases, 89 are children aged 0-9 years, 72 are aged 10-19, 120 are aged 20-39, 56 and aged 40-59 and 12 are aged over 60.
There are currently more than 10,000 active primary close contacts in isolation in Victoria. Around 2100 primary close contacts were cleared yesterday.
Authorised officers, supported by the Australian Defence Force, continue to visit homes across Victoria to ensure that people are isolating correctly and are well supported. Household engagement teams conducted 818 visits yesterday. Officers are seeing a strong level of compliance.
There are more than 440 exposure sites in Victoria.
Please check the website for all exposure 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.
Update: Public health focus on St Kilda and surrounding areas
The Department continues to ask anyone who lives, works or spends time in St Kilda to get tested. There was another strong response to the call to test yesterday with more than 1000 people at the Palais Theatre car park testing site. People can get tested at any testing centre. Getting tested is a permitted reason to leave your 5-kilometre radius.
The call to test for St Kilda and surrounding areas was made due to a growing number of unlinked cases in an area stretching from the outer areas of Middle Park to North Caulfield, across the LGAs of Port Phillip and Glen Eira, including Fitzroy Street and other commercial areas in St Kilda.
Update: Vaccinations
28,601 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services yesterday.
The total number of doses administered through these services is 2,050,042.
Following the successful operation of Australia’s first drive-through vaccination clinic that recently opened in Melton, the Victorian Government has announced the locations of three new drive-through vaccination hubs in Broadmeadows, Sandown Racecourse in Springvale and Eagle Stadium in Werribee.
More information about these new clinics, including their opening dates can be seen at: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/more-drive-through-vaccination-clinics-victoria
More and more appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine are opening up. There are 380,000 vaccine appointments available over the next four weeks. For more information, see: https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/more-and-more-victorians-pick-reason-get-vaccinated
Victorians aged between 18 and 39 can attend a state-run vaccination centre to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine should they provide informed consent.
Anyone who is eligible to be vaccinated is strongly encouraged to make a booking.
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: COVID-19 wastewater detections in Victoria
The Department is continuing to identify unexpected detections of COVID-19 fragments in wastewater in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria in areas that have not recorded recent positive cases.
Current areas of concern are:
Regional catchments
· Shepparton – three repeat detections in the period of interest 9-16 August. A recent positive case identified in the Shepparton area explains the most recent wastewater detection. However, the period of interest remains a concern. Anyone who works or have visited that area between 9 and 16 August is encouraged to come forward for testing, even if they are not showing symptoms.
Metro catchments - residential
· Camberwell area: seven repeat detections reported in the suburbs of Balwyn, Camberwell, Canterbury, Mont Albert and Surrey Hills. The most recent period of interest is 16-18 August. There are intermittent detections of concern in Camberwell between 25 July to 11 August.
· Northern suburbs: Detection reported in the suburbs of Coburg, Coburg North, Fawkner, Hadfield, Preston, Reservoir and Thomastown – detections in the period of interest 15-18 August.
· Western suburbs: Detections reported in the suburbs of Albion, Braybrook, Footscray, Seddon, St Albans, Sunshine, Sunshine North, Sunshine West, Tottenham and West Footscray – detections in the period of interest 15-19 August.
· Collingwood – a detection linked to the public housing tower at 240 Wellington St, Collingwood in the period of interest 15-19 Aug.
· South-eastern suburbs including Dingley Village, Keysborough, Noble Park, Springvale and Springvale South, five repeat detections in the period of interest 11-18 August.
Metro catchments - industrial
· Sunshine West – repeated strong detections in the period of interest 8-19 August.
The Sunshine West industrial area is bounded by the Western Ring Road to the west, the Glengala Drain to the north, Kororoit Creek to the east and Industrial and Proximity Drive to the south.
Based on the strength and frequency of these repeat detections it is likely that someone who works in this industrial area has coronavirus. Anyone who works or have visited that area between 8 and 19 August is encouraged to come forward for testing, even if they are not showing symptoms. The Department is working with local businesses to support with testing.
The wastewater testing program provides an early warning system at a population level and a cautious approach is always taken when these detections are found.
In the past week wastewater testing has provided an early warning in three different metropolitan locations prompting additional individual testing and identification of cases.
More information is available at https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/wastewater-testing-covid-19
Update: Testing
In a strong day for testing, 48,273 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.
Update: Extended lockdown
Strengthened extensions to Victoria’s lockdown are in effect.
To see more information, visit https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covidsafe-settings
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 - 20 August 2021 .pdf [Word, 182962 Bytes]
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