Source: ABCnews
More restrictions are set to be introduced in Victoria as the state deals with a fresh COVID-19 outbreak, but a snap lockdown appears off the agenda for now.
The state’s health department confirmed 10 new cases overnight, but all of those had already been reported yesterday.
Senior Victorian ministers and public health officials met on Wednesday to discuss the emerging outbreak and what restrictions may need to be reintroduced.
Mask rules were tightened overnight and the ABC understands more new restrictions will be introduced today, including caps on home visits, but the state will not be put into lockdown.
Most of the new cases have been linked to the Ariele apartments in Maribyrnong, where removalists from Sydney, who have since tested positive to COVID-19, were working on Thursday July 8.
Authorities believe the other case of community transmission took place at Craigieburn Coles on Saturday July 10, where one member of a family that returned from NSW under a red zone permit visited. The person who picked the virus up at the supermarket is a man in his 30s.
A Bacchus Marsh school teacher, who lives at Barwon, also tested positive to COVID-19. A positive case was later registered at Barwon Heads Primary School.
New mandatory mask rules now in place
The new rules, announced by the Victorian Department of Health, state that masks must again be worn in all workplaces and secondary schools.
The mask mandate in workplaces and schools was only recently lifted as outbreaks were brought under control.
They must also be worn outdoors when you cannot remain socially distanced from those who are not from your household.
The Victorian Department of Health said at this stage there were no restrictions on the reasons to leave home or the distance you could travel.
Acting Chief Health Officer Clare Looker said the new rules were introduced because “there are steps we can take right now to protect ourselves and each other”.
Spread of new cases ‘extremely concerning’
Nancy Baxter from Melbourne University’s School of Population and Global Health said the pace of the spread of the Delta variant could create real headaches for health authorities.
“The infectious period for these people extended a week ago, which means they have been in the community for a significant amount of time when they potentially were infectious, so this is extremely concerning.”
Professor Baxter said the threat of the Delta variant should prompt health authorities to consider keeping the tougher mask requirements in place for longer.
“Given the number of outbreaks that seem to be happening repeatedly, I think it’s something we’re going to have to think about doing,” she said.
“I think that we’re all learning from Sydney about how rapidly the Delta variant spreads and how challenging it is for contact tracers to get a handle on it.”
Victoria’s COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar yesterday said thecoming two days were particularly critical.
“I think we’re right on the heels of this particular outbreak,” Mr Weimar said.
“Can I please urge all of us as Victorians, we’ve talked … over the last few weeks about the outstanding performance collectively that all Victorians have undertaken, to get on top of these waves.
“We are being tested again now. This is a significant challenge to us, with two separate chains of transmission running.”
Mr Weimar said it was likely more exposure sites would be listed as Victoria also introduced tougher mask rules statewide.
“I need the whole community to once again come together to make sure we surge around these two chains of transmission and get them under control quickly,” he said.
“We need to continue to work very closely with our red zone arrivals to make sure these flying embers don’t catch light again.
“As we’ve always done in Victoria, we will take fast and aggressive action as we think it’s appropriate.”
With public health experts reviewing the situation in the wake of the new cases, Victorians will find out today if current restrictions will be tightened.
But Victoria’s Opposition Leader, Michael O’Brien, warned against any further lockdowns, saying the state could not afford it.
“And that’s the big test for contact tracing in Victoria,” Mr O’Brien said.
“If contact tracing has been fixed the way the government has promised it has been fixed, then there is no need for more restrictions and there should be no need for further lockdowns.”
Yesterday, Mr Weimer did not rule out any changes, urging Victorians to follow the current restrictions in place, including wearing masks and using QR codes to check-in.
