Image: Hundreds of people who attended the Peel Hotel on friday night have been told to get tested and isolate.(ABC News: Dana Morse)
Source: ABCnews
Hundreds of people have been told to isolate after a person with the Omicron COVID-19 variant attended two busy Melbourne bars on Friday night.
Victoria’s health department said the positive case attended Sircuit Bar in Fitzroy, between 9pm and midnight on December 10, and then the Peel Hotel in Collingwood until 3am.
It’s estimated around 320 people were at the Peel Hotel and 410 people were at Sircuit Bar during those exposure times.
The health department said anyone who attended the venues must get tested and quarantine immediately.
Fully vaccinated people must quarantine for seven days, and people who are not fully vaccinated must quarantine for 14 days.
Victoria records 1,405 COVID-19 cases
The Omicron exposures came as Victoria on Wednesday reported 1,405 new COVID-19 cases and three deaths.
There are now 11,518 active cases of the virus in Victoria, and 608 people have died during the current outbreak.
There are 365 people in hospital with the virus in Victoria, of whom 84 are in intensive care and 46 are on a ventilator.
The health department said a further 44 people were in ICU but their infections were no longer considered active.
The health department yesterday confirmed three new cases of the Omicron variant, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to six.
Two of the new Omicron cases were on a flight from Dubai from which previous cases were identified.
Yesterday, genomic sequencing was being carried out on nine other suspected Omicron cases.
It’s not known whether any of those cases are people who attended Sircuit Bar or the Peel Hotel on Friday night.
Drag performer Jacqui Meoff said she had to isolate for seven days after performing at Sircuit Bar on Friday night.
She said the bar had been enforcing its COVID safe requirements.
“Sircuit is very proactive and their security staff, their bouncers, they make sure everyone does check in on the way in,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.
