Melbourne apartment complex in lockdown amid Covid scare
A Melbourne apartment complex is essentially in lockdown after infectious removalists from NSW with a border permit stopped off at the building.
After arriving back in Sydney, two of the three-person removalist team who travelled through Victoria and South Australia last week tested positive for Covid-19.
The workers dropped something off to a family in Craigieburn and picked something up from the apartment complex on Thursday.
Both families of four are in isolation and have been tested.
The Ariele Apartments on Thomas Holmes Street in Maribyrnong landed on Victoria's exposure sites list on Monday night.
The alert for the complex applies to any person who was at the building from 1pm on July 8 until 11.59pm on July 12.
Anyone who was at the building on July 8 must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure and is considered to be 'Tier One' contact.
While the following four specified days have 'Tier Two' health advice — meaning people must get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
"This includes any access to the residential foyer, stairwells, lift, residential floors and carpark," the Victorian Government said on its website.
"This excludes people whose only exposure to the building was to enter a commercial space on the ground floor and who did not enter any residential space."
In a letter addressed to residents from Western Health, people in isolation were advised they may only leave their homes to get tested or in case of an emergency — they are not allowed to go to a vaccination appointment.
The removalist crew is believed to have immediately departed Melbourne and arrived in Adelaide in the early hours of Friday morning.
However, Victoria's CovidCommander Jeroen Weimar said authorities still did not have a complete picture of their movements within the state.
"The initial version of the stories is not quite tying up at the moment," he told reporters on Monday afternoon.
"It is taking us a little bit longer than we would like. We are also talking to their employer who is providing fuel cards and logbooks and various other bits and pieces."
More cases Tuesday, but authorities not worried
Two family members from the City of Hume also tested positive after recently returning from Sydney and were included in Tuesday's numbers. Both have been in isolation.
Mr Weimar said three of the four family members arrived on a flight from Sydney on July 4 carrying red zone permits, while the other re-entered the state by road last Thursday.
They all tested negative shortly after arrival but two became symptomatic and were swabbed again on Sunday, with the results coming back positive on Monday morning.
The flight has not been added as an exposure site as the three family members tested negative two days later, and all other passengers remain in isolation as fellow red zone returnees.
Mr Weimar said he was not surprised "flying embers" from the Sydney outbreak had broken containment lines after NSW reported 112 new local cases on Monday.
Coles, Qantas flight among new exposure sites
Victoria added several new exposure sites across the state, including Coles at Craigieburn Central and the entirety of Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre.
The new 'Tier One' exposure sites in Victoria are:
Mobil Ballan - Westbound, Ballan, on July 8, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
McDonalds Ballan - Westbound, Ballan, on July 8, 5:00pm to 7:00pm
Ariele Apartments, Maribyrnong, on July 8, 1:00pm to 11:59pm
Coles Craigieburn Central, Craigieburn, on July 10, 5:28pm to 6:38pm
The new 'Tier Two' exposure sites in Victoria are:
Ariele Apartments, Maribyrnong, on July 9, 12:00am to 11:59pm
Ariele Apartments, Maribyrnong, on July 10, 12:00am to 11:59pm
Ariele Apartments, Maribyrnong, on July 11, 12:00am to 11:59pm
Ariele Apartments, Maribyrnong, on July 12, 12:00am to 11:59pm
Metro Petroleum Broadmeadows, Broadmeadows, July 11, 1:19pm to 2:04pm
Qantas Flight QF1542 Launceston to Melbourne, from Launceston Airport to Melbourne Airport (Tullamarine), on July 2, 10:15am to 11:20am
The new 'Tier Three' exposure site in Victoria is:
Craigieburn Central Shopping Centre, Craigieburn, on July 10, 5:28pm to 6:38pm
Anyone who visited a Tier Three exposure site must monitor for symptoms and get tested if any appear and isolate until a negative result is received.
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