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Covid Victoria: Promising new case numbers amid cluster battle

Victoria appears to be getting to grips with its coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne’s southeast with just one additional locally acquired case detected in the previous 24-hour reporting period.

The Department of Health and Human Services announced the sole case on Wednesday morning, which takes its active local cases to 28.

The previous 27 are all part of the Black Rock cluster centred around a Thai restaurant with health authorities to provide details on the latest case later on Wednesday.

Pictured left is a Melbourne health worker and on the right is a line of cars at a Dandenong coronavirus testing clinic.
Victorians have been praised for coming out in strong numbers to get tested for coronavirus. Source: Getty Images

Victorians have been praised for proactively seeking testing following the emergence of the virus in the community for the first time in two months, with a further 37,509 tests processed in the previous 24 hours.

A further two cases were detected in hotel quarantine, taking the number of active cases in the state to 41.

More than 900 primary contacts and 400 secondary contacts of the Black Rock cluster are currently isolating.

Victoria's list of exposure sites has almost hit 100, with two clothes retailers and a Sri Lankan restaurant in Melbourne added late on Tuesday.

A known case shopped at the Nike Company in South Melbourne on December 30 from 12:00pm to 12:45pm. Anyone in the store at this time must get tested and quarantine for 14 days.

Other health alerts have been issued for anyone at Melbourne's Culture Kings store on Russell Street and Tamarind 8 in Narre Warren at specific times.

They are asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they develop.

Fears over further hotel quarantine leaks

Victoria’s Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville said on Tuesday the state was concerned over the amount of air crew arriving in the country with the virus.

There have been eight positive cases in crew since Victoria’s hotel quarantine scheme returned last month.

“This is over and above the averages that we are seeing in international returned travellers. This was an incredibly important decision to make sure that we are quarantining flight crew and we’re testing flight crew. Those odds are very high,” Ms Neville said on Tuesday.

“In fact, I would be today saying to the other states, this is such a high risk for all of us, for the country, everyone needs to follow the lead around quarantining and testing of flight crew.

“It is absolutely critical given the numbers that we’re seeing. Any risk of this getting out, that was a major issue and one of the issues I think that was identified through New South Wales a few weeks ago.

“So, again, I encourage nationally and all the states to look at this.”

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