| 17 August 2021
24 | 0 | 1 | 227 | 0 | 31,519 | 8,862,047 |
Cases locally acquired | Cases acquired interstate | Cases acquired overseas | Active cases | Lives lost | Tests processed yesterday | Total tests since pandemic began |
3,298,895 | 20,783 | 14.43 |
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 25 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. 24 were locally acquired cases – one was detected in an international traveller in hotel quarantine.
There are 227 active cases in Victoria – 225 locally acquired and two overseas acquired cases.
There are 12 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. Two cases are in intensive care.
The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 21,191.
Update: Outbreaks
Of the 24 new locally acquired cases, 14 cases were quarantine throughout their infectious period.
Of the locally-acquired cases:
· Three cases are linked to Al-Taqwa College – all household contacts. All were quarantining.
· Nine cases are linked to Glenroy West Primary – one student and eight household contacts. All were quarantining.
· Four cases are linked to the St Kilda East Community Outbreak – three are social contacts from a private event, and one case is a contact who was providing care.
· Two cases are linked to the housing tower at 480 Lygon St Carlton – one is a resident of the level that is currently a Tier 1 exposure site, and one case is a contact who was providing care.
· Three cases are linked to the Newport Community Outbreak – two are household contacts, who were quarantining, and one is a social contact.
Three cases are not currently linked to known outbreaks:
· One case is a St Kilda resident without clear links to other cases.
· Two further cases are linked to each other – both social contacts – one who lives in St Kilda and one who lives in the City of Melbourne.
There are currently more than 14,400 active primary close contacts in isolation in Victoria.
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. 1203 household visits were conducted yesterday. Officers are seeing a strong level of compliance.
There are more than 540 exposure sites in Victoria and that number continues to grow.
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 is asking anyone who lives, works or spends time in St Kilda – or in other areas in the Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas – to get tested.
People should get tested if they have been to exposure sites, or if they have had any symptoms, or even if they are unsure.
Attributable to Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton:
“We want to see more tests right across the area because it’s becoming a real concern for us.”
“As many as five mystery cases are connected to this area. We need more tests to track down unidentified chains of transmission and protect the whole local community.”
Update: Extended lockdown
Strengthened extensions are in effect from 11:59pm Tuesday 16 August.
To see more information, visit https://www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/coronavirus-covidsafe-settings
Update: Vaccinations
25,742 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services yesterday.
The total number of doses administered through these services is 1,994,916.
More and more appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine are opening up. 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. Current concerns:
Regional catchments
· Shepparton – detections 10-11 Aug and 13 August (period of interest 9-13 August)
· Lakes Entrance – one detection 9-11 August (period of interest 8-11 August)
Metro catchments – residential
· Truganina and Williams Landing – detections since 9 August and continuing (period of interest 18-16 August)
· Truganina and Tarneit – detections on 9-11 August and again on 16 August (period of interest 8-16 August)
· Ardeer – detections on 12 Aug and 12-16 August (period of interest 11-16 August)
Metro catchments – industrial
· Sunshine West – strong detections between 9-16 August (period of interest 8-16 August). 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
31,519 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.
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 - 17 August 2021.pdf [Word, 175267 Bytes]
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