Melbourne police officer falls ill with coronavirus – as six more cops are ordered to self-isolate immediately
- A Melbourne police officer tested positive to coronavirus on Wednesday
- The officer works at Werribee police station in Melbourne's south west
- Six of his police colleagues have been told to self-isolate for two weeks
- The infected police officer had been on leave from work since June 21
- Investigations are underway to determine if he could have infected the public
A police officer has tested positive to coronavirus, shutting down a Victorian police station and forcing six officers in isolation.
Werribee Police Station in Melbourne's west was temporarily closed for cleaning on Wednesday and reopened on Thursday after an officer tested positive.
Victoria Police says the officer felt unwell while on planned leave and had not been at work since June 21.
Six colleagues of the infected officer have gone into isolation and will be tested as a precautionary measure.
A Melbourne police officer has tested positive to coronavirus , while six of his colleagues have been told to self-isolate for two weeks (pictured, other officers check cars on Thursday)
Investigations are underway to determine where the officer caught the virus and if he could have infected the public (pictured, police checking cars at a lockdown roadblock on Thursday)
Investigations are under way to identify whether members of the community had contact with the officer.
New infections in Victoria have been in double digits for more than two weeks, with authorities scrambling to contain the virus.
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Victoria recorded 77 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, marking the 16th day of double-digit case numbers in the state.
Many of the new cases are localised in Melbourne's inner north and west, where more than 300,000 residents in ten postcodes and 36 suburbs will remain in lockdown until July 29.
Victoria recorded 77 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, marking the 16th day of double-digit case numbers (pictured, checks on Victorian travellers at Sydney airport on Thursday)
A large proportion of the state's recent cases have been traced back to infection control breaches by security staff at hotels hosting returned travellers.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said 'not unexpectedly' the number of patients in hospital had grown to 20, with four people in intensive care.
'When you've got significant community transmission, when you've got 70-odd cases every day, there is absolutely a possibility, an expectation, that some of those people will die,' he said.
Of the new cases, seven are linked to outbreaks at schools.
With 17 schools closed in recent weeks for cleaning following COVID-19 cases, Professor Sutton said he will review whether students in the locked-down areas should return to school.
This map shows the suburbs which will be subject to stay-at-home orders from Wednesday at 11.59pm after a spike in coronavirus cases
Also on Thursday, the state government confirmed veteran judge Jennifer Coate will lead an inquiry into Victoria's hotel quarantine program.
A large proportion of the state's recent cases have been traced back to infection control breaches by security staff at hotels hosting returned travellers.
Across the rest of the country, there were eight new cases in NSW and one in the Northern Territory - its first since early April and linked to one of the Melbourne hotspots.
One of the cases in NSW was a supermarket worker who tested positive to COVID-19 after spending two weeks in hotel quarantine in Victoria.
A health worker is seen giving out a coronavirus test in Melbourne on Thursday (pictured) after 36 suburbs were put on lockdown
