New coronavirus cluster emerges in Melbourne
A total of eight employees at a meat processing facility in Melbourne have tested positive to COVID-19 after three additional workers were confirmed to have the coronavirus on Saturday.
The three new workers with the virus took the daily total of new cases in Victoria to seven, with one of those people being held in hotel quarantine, Victoria’s Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos said.
“The others are obviously required to be isolating at home,” Ms Mikakos told reporters on Saturday morning.
Testing of all other staff at the meat processing facility is being conducted as is contact tracing of those confirmed to have the virus.
“The business has now been closed and is being thoroughly cleaned,” she said, assuring the public there were no contamination concerns associated with the facility.
Ms Mikakos withheld the name of the business as authorities were confident they had been able to inform everyone necessary about the outbreak so they could be tested.
The daily total was the highest recorded for the state all week, taking cases to 1371.
“The fact that we've had seven new cases overnight does demonstrate that the situation is still incredibly fragile,” Ms Mikakos said.
All but 71 patients who contracted the virus in Victoria have recovered. More than 140 of the total cases indicate community transmission, which means patients have not been overseas or in contact with another confirmed case.
Harsh restrictions on social gatherings and movement are beginning to ease across some states. But Victoria is not expected to relax its measures to curb the spread of coronavirus before May 11.
It comes as Victoria Police doled out 30 fines in the past 24 hours, including seven people who gathered for a birthday party and others busted for drug offences.
With AAP
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