Victoria has recorded no new cases of coronavirus since yesterday.
This is the first time Victoria has recorded zero daily cases since 29 December last year.
The number of active cases in Victoria is now 38 including 28 locally acquired cases which is no change since yesterday and 10 cases in hotel quarantine, a decrease of three in the past 24 hours. The number of active cases linked to the Black Rock Restaurant cluster remains at 27.
Yesterday’s reported positive case in a man aged in his 30s has now been genomically linked to the Northern Beaches outbreak. The source of acquisition for this case is still unknown and under investigation.
As reported yesterday, this case attended stores at the Chadstone Shopping Centre on 26 December from 6am to 1.30pm and went to the MCG for day two of the Boxing Day Test on 27 December.
As the acquisition site of this case’s illness is still not known, it is vitally important that anyone who was at the Culture Kings, Huffer, JD Sports, Jay Jays, H&M, Uniqlo, Myer, Superdry, Footlocker and Dumplings Plus stores at Chadstone Shopping Centre on the above dates and times and anyone who was in The Great Southern Stand, Zone 5, of the MCG between 12.30pm and 3.30pm on 27 December is urged to get tested and isolate until they get a negative test result.
The Zara clothing store at Chadstone has been added today to this list of possible acquisition sites.
More precise timings for the 11 Chadstone stores will be posted on the DHHS COVID-19 website later today.
As contact tracing interviews continue and the Victorian outbreak situation evolves, more exposure sites may be discovered and details about exposure sites may change. A list of each exposure site, including dates and times, can be found at Case alerts - public exposure sites.
Yesterday 32,767 tests were processed, bringing the overall testing total in Victoria since the pandemic began to 4,065,103.
The response by Victorians to present for testing has been remarkable. There have been almost 180,000 tests taken in Victoria since 1 January.
Around 30 per cent of all testing has come from Melbourne’s south and south-east corridors which is a great community response to the current Black Rock Restaurant outbreak.
We thank Victorians for their patience and their recognition of the importance of getting tested. Only through this mass testing effort can we quickly identify new cases and engage public health actions to contain this new outbreak.
We now have more than 200 testing centres in operation in Victoria, including a new testing site near Gate One at the MCG which processed 270 tests yesterday.
Please get tested at your nearest available testing location. Wait times at testing sites across the system have substantially reduced but delays can still be expected at some of our busier testing centres.
The department is publishing expected wait times at testing sites on its website. The website also includes updated information about locations and hours of operation for testing sites at Where to get tested page.
The number of people currently in isolation in Victoria because they are either positive cases or primary close contacts of cases is 2460.
The border with NSW remains closed and the department is working though more than 4000 exemption applications for travel to Victoria for compassionate and medical reasons.
More than 400 exemptions have been granted so far and staff are processing the most urgent cases first with priority given to Victorian residents. Every exemption is assessed on a case-by-case basis and is being processed as quickly as possible.
The Service Victoria online permit system has been successfully modified to accept the start of a border entry permit exception application. This new capability will help those people stuck interstate begin their application online so they can get home sooner. More information is available at Service.vic .
Information regarding COVID-19 is available at the Department of Health and Human Services website or by calling 1800 675 398.
Reviewed 06 January 2021