Two children are infected with coronavirus in Victoria's outbreak as health authorities make progress linking concerning mystery cases
- Two new Covid cases were detected in Victoria in the 24 hours to Monday
- Both new cases are in children linked to previously known cases in Melbourne
- There are a total of 64 active cases of coronavirus in the state as of Monday
- Authorities are concerned not enough people are coming forward for testing
The two latest people to be infected with Covid in Victoria are children known to a previously recorded case.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said on Monday one of the children is linked to a household cluster in Reservoir while the other child is a close contact of the case in Melbourne that was picked up at the weekend.
Both children have been quarantined during their entire infectious period so they pose no risk to the community, the Victorian Department of Health said.
Mr Foley is yet to reveal the ages of each child.
'What these figures tell us, they continue to give us confidence that the system is working,' Mr Foley said.
The two latest people to be infected with Covid in Victoria are children known to a previously recorded case
Mr Foley also revealed contact tracers identified a link between two previously known cases.
The case identified on Saturday lives in the same complex of 100 townhouses in Southbank where an aged care worker at Arcare Maidstone who tested positive to Covid also lives.
Once the connection was established, contact tracers were able to contact other people in the building who may have been exposed to Covid to ask them to isolate while specialist nurses opened a pop up testing clinic out the front of the building on Monday.
'Rather than wait for the community to come to the contact tracers and the testing facility, local public health took the view that they should go to them, and I think that is a good thing,' he said.
Most of the residents will only be required to isolate until they receive a negative result, but there are a select amount of people in the complex who will be forced to undergo 14 days quarantine.
Victoria lifted many lockdown restrictions on Friday, but said the chances of all remaining measures being eased hinged largely on testing numbers
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said on Monday one of the children is linked to a household cluster in Reservoir while the other child is a close contact of the case in Melbourne that was picked up at the weekend
Victoria lifted many lockdown restrictions on Friday, but the chances of all remaining measures being eased hinged largely on testing numbers.
The local authorities were concerned about the drop in numbers seeking Covid tests, with just 16,932 results received in the 24 hours to Monday.
Ideally, government officials said upwards of of 20,000 per day were required for there to be a confidence the virus was not circulating undetected in the community.
At the height of the latest outbreak, in excess of 50,000 people were turning out each day to get tested.
Victoria's Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimer said the sharp decline in those numbers was 'a little bit concerning' - days after urging Victorians to 'call out' people if they went out with the sniffles.
Melbourne's lockdown has ended - but overnight 19 new exposure sites were added to the Victorian Health website
'While we're still dealing with new cases emerging, I would really encourage people to help us keep those testing numbers up,' he said.
'That will give us a good feel that we're getting a good cross section of people coming forward.'
There were 64 active cases of Covid in Victoria as of Monday morning, with just three people receiving hospital treatment and none in intensive care.
The Victorian Health Department added six locations to the exposure list overnight which are listed as Tier Two exposure sites meaning anyone who visited must get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
A confirmed positive case visited the McDonald's at Freshwater Place at Southbank in the CBD, between 5pm and 5.30pm on Friday, June 11.
A popular McDonalds in the heart of Melbourne's Southbank has been forced to close after a customer infected with Covid dined in the restaurant last Friday
The person also went to Woolworths Melbourne Square on Hoff Boulevard, at Southbank, between 4pm and 5.30pm on Tuesday, June 8.
The Medibank office on level seven of 720 Bourke Street, Docklands, was also visited between 7.45am and 4.15pm on May 18.
The office building 4 Freshwater Place, Southbank, was also flagged as an exposure site, with the confirmed case visiting the site between 8.40am and 9.25am, and 4.35pm and 5.30pm on June 9.
There are currently more than 130 venues on Melbourne's exposure list - down from 400 that were listed last week.
Ideally, government officials are hoping to see testing numbers north of 20,000 each day to feel confident the virus is not circulating undetected in the community. Pictured: Australian swimmer Cate Campbell receives a Pfizer vaccine
Covid fragments have also been detected in the sewage systems of a handful of suburbs, sparking concerns the virus could be in the region undetected.
Wastewater in the northeastern suburbs of Balwyn North, Bulleen, Bundoora, Eaglemont, Heidelberg, Heidelberg Heights, Ivanhoe, Ivanhoe East, Kew East, Macleod, Rosanna, Viewbank, Watsonia and Yallambie are of particular concern.
There are no confirmed cases in the areas, prompting fears there is an undiagnosed infectious case still in the community.
Anybody who visited the areas between June 9 and 10 are urged to seek testing if they develop any Covid symptoms.
