Coronavirus update for Victoria – 28 August 2021

Victoria was notified of 64 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday. All were locally acquired cases.

There are 701 active cases in Victoria - 697 locally acquired and four overseas acquired cases.

There are 42 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria. 13 cases are in intensive care and eight cases are on ventilators.

There are 26 people currently in hospital with COVID-19 in Victoria aged under 50 years. In intensive care, we have one person aged in their 20s, eight people aged in their 40s and two people aged in their 50s.

The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 21,834. One historic case was reclassified.

Update: Vaccines

In another record day for vaccinations, 35,753 vaccine doses were administered by Victoria's state-commissioned services yesterday.

The total number of doses administered through these services is 2,324,198.

Every Victorian aged 16 years and over is now eligible to access a coronavirus vaccine at state-run vaccination centres, under an expansion of the state vaccine program that will further help Victoria reach its goal of one million doses over five weeks by 19 September.

For more information, see Vaccine eligibility expanding for anyone 16 and over.

We have a focus on the western suburbs with our four large vaccination centres providing vaccinations in an area that is not as well serviced by the GP and primary care network.

The vaccination centre at the Melbourne Showgrounds is administering 1,000 vaccines a day, the Melton drive-through site more than 800 vaccinations a day, the Eagle Stadium in Werribee more than 600 a day and the hub at the Sunshine Hospital more than 1,700 vaccinations a day.

Bookings can be made on Victoria's online booking system at Book your vaccine appointment or you can ring the coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398.

Outbreaks

Of today's 64 local cases, 49 cases have been linked to known outbreaks:

• 10 cases are linked to MyCentre Childcare in Broadmeadows
• 10 in City of Wyndham
• 7 cases in Shepparton
• 5 cases in the Port Melbourne/St Kilda area
• 4 cases in Hobsons Bay
• 3 cases in the Carlton/Brunswick area
• 1 case in Brimbank
• 9 cases are linked to existing cases

15 cases have their acquisition source under investigation. These cases are from the local government areas of Darebin, Greater Dandenong, Hobsons Bay, Hume, Melbourne, Moreland, Port Phillip and Yarra.

36 cases were confirmed as in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period. Interviews with new cases are continuing and we would expect that number to increase as further details are gathered.

The Department of Health can confirm that a positive COVID-19 test result was returned for a worker in the Wharparilla Lodge residential aged care facility in Echuca. The media reports of a false positive test result are incorrect. The previously reported case tested positive for COVID-19 and worked for multiple days during the infectious period. A public health response is in place at the facility to limit the possibility of transmission.

Of the 701 active cases:

• 149 are aged between 0 and 9
• 118 are aged between 10 and 19
• 141 are aged between 20 and 29
• 134 are aged between 30 and 39

There are currently more than 18,200 active primary close contacts in isolation in Victoria and more than 17,200 secondary close contacts.

Household engagement teams of authorised officers, supported by the Australian Defence Force, conducted 1,633 visits yesterday to ensure people are isolating correctly and are well supported. That is a record number of visits conducted in a single day. Two-thirds of those visits were in Shepparton and officers are seeing a strong level of support and compliance.

At midday today, there were more than 880 exposure sites in Victoria.

Please check the website for all exposure sites and the dates and times of exposure at Case alerts - public exposure sites.

The Department regularly manages exposure sites that it doesn't publish online, particularly if these sites represent lower-risk exposures, or if they have comprehensive record-keeping and contact tracing measures, or if they identify small, private locations - including smaller apartment or townhouse complexes.

Update: Shepparton outbreak

There are 85 active COVID-19 cases in Shepparton with seven new cases reported yesterday.

Emergency Management Victoria is on the ground in Shepparton and supporting the local community.

Goulburn Valley Health is heavily engaged in contact tracing and testing with more than 20,000 tests undertaken in Shepparton this week.

Support was provided to people needing to isolate in Shepparton within 24 hours of the outbreak.

Emergency relief packages are available for people required to self-isolate if they have no network of family or friends to support them and they need food and other essential supplies.

If you're in Shepparton and surrounds, and are isolating due to COVID-19 and in need of care or food, please call the Coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398 and select Option 4 or visit Greater Shepparton COVID-19.

Update: Testing requirement for SACs

The Department of Education has been working closely with the Department of Health on the arrangements to ensure that Victorian students are able to undertake SACs with all the necessary precautions and protections in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Due to the number of mystery cases in the community and the large number of young people impacted in this outbreak, additional public health measures for Victorian students undergoing SACs this week are in place requiring them to take a COVID-19 test.

This testing requirement is only for the performing arts SACs, which applies to approximately 5,000 students given they largely involve singing, music and other aerosolised activities. It is not a requirement for other end of year assessments.

This asymptomatic, surveillance testing approach is one currently used during outbreak periods in other high-risk settings such as abattoirs and as such, students are not required to isolate after they get tested while they wait for their result.

For students sitting these assessments on Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday we would like them to get tested this weekend. However, we appreciate this may not be possible, so these students must be tested immediately after their exam within 48 hours.

For students with assessments Thursday/Friday this week they are required to test before their SAC but they still do not need to have the test result back before their assessment. Evidence of a negative test result is not required before the assessment.

The Department will be notified of any positive test results and begin contact tracing immediately. Any positive students will be unable to attend on site assessments.

Update: Departing Hotel Quarantine Permit

The Chief Health Officer has approved a new Departing Hotel Quarantine Permit which replaces the green zone permit for people who have completed hotel quarantine interstate.

The Departing Hotel Quarantine Permit requires mandatory Day 17 testing as a condition of the permit to reduce the risk of COVID-19 incursion from people who undertake hotel quarantine in an interstate hotel quarantine program. Day 21 testing will also continue to be recommended.

Update: Queensland zone changes

From 11:59pm on Wednesday 25 August 2021, the orange zone Local Government Areas of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Moreton Bay, Noosa, Redland, Scenic Rim, Somerset and Sunshine Coast are green zones under Victoria's travel permit system.

You are still required to apply for a permit when entering Victoria from a green zone. For more information on what green zones mean, visit Victorian Travel Permit System - Green zones.

If you entered or are entering Victoria and have been in any of these Local Government Areas in the previous 14 days, you are a green zone arrival. This also means that previous orange zone arrivals from these Local Government Areas are released from isolation.

To apply for a permit, visit Service Victoria. It is an offence to enter Victoria without a valid permit, exemption or exception, with fines of up to $5,452.

For more information on Victoria's travel permit system - including exceptions, exemptions, specified worker permits and frequently asked questions - visit Victorian Travel Permit System.

Update: COVID-19 wastewater detections in Victoria

The Department is continuing to identify unexpected detections of COVID-19 fragments in wastewater in metropolitan Melbourne in areas that have not recorded recent positive cases.

Anyone who lives, works or has visited the below listed suburbs and areas is urged to watch for the slightest symptoms of COVID-19 and to get tested as soon as possible if symptoms develop.

Current areas of concern are:

Metro catchments - residential

• Western suburbs: Tottenham and West Footscray detection with period of interest 23-26 August. Sunshine West - repeat detections with period of interest 22-26 August. Footscray, Seddon and West Footscray - detections in the period of interest 15-23 August. South Kingsville and Spotswood - repeat detections with period of interest 17-20 and 22-27 August.
• Southern suburbs: Aspendale, Aspendale Gardens, Bonbeach, Carrum, Chelsea, Chelsea Heights, Edithvale, Mordialloc, Patterson Lakes, Seaford - repeat detections in the period of interest 23-27 August.
• Northern suburbs: Coburg, Coburg North, Fawkner, Hadfield, Preston, Reservoir and Thomastown - repeat detections in the period of interest 15-20 August.

Metro catchments - industrial

• Sunshine West - 15 repeated detections in the period of interest 8-27 August.

More information is available at Wastewater testing.

Update: Testing

55,333 tests were processed in Victoria yesterday.

More than 350,000 tests have been conducted in the past week and more than 98 per cent of results are available by the next day.

Attributable to Jeroen Weimar, COVID-19 Commander

"When you get symptoms, no matter how mild, get tested immediately. It will help us slow the rate of community transmission of the virus and protects you, your family members and your local community."

See new and extended testing sites, where to get tested and expected wait times at Where to get tested for COVID-19.

General advice

COVID-19 symptoms include fever, sore throat, cough, shortness of breath and loss or change in sense of smell or taste. If you are experiencing symptoms, wear a fitted face mask when you get tested.

For more information call the 24-hour Coronavirus Hotline at 1800 675 398 or visit Coronavirus (COVID-19) Victoria.

Latest statewide numbers (data reported to 11:59pm yesterday):