Source: 9news & The Age
Victoria has recorded two coronavirus cases linked to a Southbank residential complex.
The cases were identified following a testing blitz set up for the townhouse complex on Monday, where more than 200 residents were tested.
“I can confirm that we have been notified of two further positive cases inside that building amongst people that we have identified as primary close contacts through those testing actions,” Health Minister Martin Foley said.
The state’s two COVID-19 cases are men who live in separate apartments adjacent to the other positive cases.
“Those two positive cases again are connected to some communal areas we are concerned about, thoroughfares within that particular complex,” Victoria’s testing commander Jeroen Weimar said.
“There is a total now of six positive cases, one of the positive cases is a very young infant and they are remaining in the apartment with their mother.”
Since this outbreak started, 7000 primary close contacts have been cleared and 1600 primary close contacts still need to receive their test results.
Infection control and testing teams are now focusing on the Southbank apartment.
There is no evidence of apartment to apartment transmission similar to what has previously occurred in hotel quarantine.
The Southbank townhouse cluster now sits at six cases after it was revealed on Monday, a man caught the virus from an Arcare Maidstone Aged Care worker who lived in the same building.
Primary close contacts will expand from the original 61 residents to about 200, who were also asked to lock down for the next 14 days.
“We are formalising the decision to expand the number of primary close contacts linked to that complex,” Mr Foley said.
The complex has just over 100 apartments and has “multiple access points” into the building.
The Southbank apartments all have “individual front doors,” Mr Weimar said.
“Most of the doors go out to very small stairwells and … outside.”
A number of internal communal facilities have been identified as exposure sites.
Earlier cases of COVID-19 linked to the Southbank complex have taken up the option to undergo their 14 days of quarantine inside a hotel.
One of the cases is a “very young infant”, Mr Weimar said.
“They are remaining with their mother in one of the apartments,” he said.
The government’s preference was for people to move into hotel quarantine “if that is right and suitable for them” rather than remain inside their townhouses.
“We have got indications of transmission in some communal areas. We haven’t got evidence of transmission between people’s front doors.
“So it is not a hotel quarantine type of scenario.”
Restrictions remained “on track” to be further eased on Thursday at 11.59pm, Mr Foley said on Monday.
