Victoria records two new local cases, one in hotel quarantine
Victoria has recorded three new COVID-19 cases – two locally acquired cases and one in hotel quarantine – on the second day of its hard five-day lockdown.
Two swim centres, a bakery and a supermarket in Melbourne’s north have also been added to a growing list of high-risk exposure sites.
The Oak Park Sports and Aquatic Centre in Pascoe Vale (pictured) and Elite Swimming Pascoe Vale have been added to a growing list of exposure sites.
A positive case attended Elite Swimming Pascoe Vale on Monday, February 8, between 5pm and 6pm and the Oak Park Sports and Aquatic Centre, also in Pascoe Vale, between 4pm and 7.30pm on Wednesday, February 10.
A positive case also shopped at Woolworths at Broadmeadows Central on Tuesday, February 9 between 12.15pm and 12.30pm followed by a nearby Ferguson Plarre from 12.30pm to 12.45pm.
The four new exposure sites are listed as Tier 1, which means anyone who visited them during the times outlined must immediately test and isolate for 14 days regardless of the initial test result.
The Department of Health confirmed the state had recorded three new cases on Sunday – two acquired in the community and one in hotel quarantine.
A single case of coronavirus recorded on Saturday, a Point Cook man aged in his 30s, was a friend of a Holiday Inn worker who had tested positive to coronavirus. He attended a private dining venue on Sydney Road in Coburg with extended family members on the evening of February 6.
Health Minister Martin Foley is expected to confirm at a press conference on Sunday that the latest COVID-19 cases are connected to the Coburg venue.
The government also revealed on Saturday that the number of close contacts associated with the quarantine hotel outbreak had grown to almost 1000 people.
Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters that the number would continue to grow and the testing of those contacts would continue through the weekend and into Monday.
There were 21,475 test results processed on Saturday, and there are now 22 active cases across the state.
Greek player Michail Pervolarakis greets fans during day four of the 2021 ATP Cup on February 5 in Melbourne.Credit:Getty
Meanwhile, Greek tennis player Michail Pervolarakis says he has tested positive for coronavirus upon arrival in South Africa after leaving Australia.
Pervolarakis did not play in the Australian Open, but was on court for the ATP Cup as late as February 5 against Spain’s Pablo Carreno-Busta.
He earlier played matches against Australia’s John Millman and doubles pair John Peers and Luke Saville.
A Tennis Australia spokesperson said Pervolarakis flew out of Melbourne Airport on February 9 – the same day Terminal 4 was listed as an exposure site for a COVID-19 case – but he flew from a different terminal and had returned a negative test on that day.
The news comes as Health Minister Greg Hunt rejected calls from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for Australia to slash how many people return to Australia via hotel quarantine, arguing the state should resume its intake if the current lockdown ends in five days.
As Victoria on Saturday began its third lockdown since the start of the global pandemic, Mr Hunt pushed back at a suggestion from Mr Andrews that Australia should consider cutting its weekly intake from thousands to hundreds and backed the state’s hotel quarantine system and contact tracing to handle the pre-lockdown level of 1120 per week.
Hanna Mills Turbet is a journalist at The Age.