By Luke Voogt
Geelong has recorded a new COVID-19 case as Victoria again posted the largest daily increase for an Australian state since the pandemic began.
The increase comes as Daniel’s Donuts Belmont today confirmed one of its staff members had tested positive.
“Our senior management team were advised late last night by the staff member that they had tested positive,” the store told the Independent in an email.
“No staff members working today have been in contact with the affected staff member.
“We undertook a deep clean last night and any staff members who have been in contact with the person who tested positive have been contacted and advised to self-isolate and be tested.”
The store declined to release any further information due to privacy.
“We are not comfortable with releasing any specific information which might make the staff member identifiable, or breach their privacy and our duty of care to them,” management said.
“We are continuing to follow the recommendations of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and council.
“Any decision to make additional information public should come from them.
“DHHS has advised us that they will be following up their normal contact tracing process and that unless someone is contacted directly by DHHS they should continue with their normal daily routine.
“It is unlikely that any customer would meet the DHHS criteria, but if customers are concerned we would suggest they visit the DHHS website or contact DHHS directly.”
The Independent requested further information from DHHS earlier today and is still awaiting a response.
Greater Geelong had eight active cases, 77 in total, as of midnight yesterday, up one on the previous day’s figures, according to DHHS.
Active cases in the Surf Coast Shire remained on one while Golden Plains Shire’s active cases remained on four after one additional case on Wednesday.
Golden Plains has also recorded three new cases related to the household of a junior Inverleigh football player in the past fortnight.
State government today announced its first dedicated regional public health team to manage cases in response to an increase in Geelong and the surrounding area.
Government has established the team at Barwon Health – starting with 10 qualified clinicians.
The team will provide case management and contact tracing for regional cases and assist metro Melbourne counterparts where possible, according to government.
The department today reported three new deaths in hospital from coronavirus: a woman in her 80s, a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s. So far 32 Victorians have died from the virus.
Across Victoria the department recorded 428 cases yesterday with 13 reclassified, largely due to duplication, increasing the state total by 415 to 5165.
The rise was the largest daily increase of any state in Australia since the pandemic began.
Of the new cases, 57 are linked to outbreaks, 370 are under investigation and one was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.
Victoria currently has 2462 active cases and 935 cases from unknown transmission.
Currently 122 people are in hospital with COVID-19, including 31 in intensive care, while 2669 people have recovered from the virus.
Of the total cases, 4729 are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 313 are from regional Victoria. More than 1,250,000 tests have been processed to date.
Victoria has recorded 394 cases in healthcare workers to date, with 150 currently active.
Cases currently linked to public housing in North Melbourne, Flemington and Carlton are as follows:
280 cases are residents of various public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington.
47 cases are residents of various public housing towers in Carlton.
Cases currently linked to key outbreaks are as follows:
160 cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa College
51 cases have been linked to Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham
38 cases have been linked to Menarock Life Aged Care facility in Essendon
36 cases have been linked to Estia Health aged care facility in Ardeer
32 cases have been linked to JBS abattoir in Brooklyn
23 cases have been linked to Glendale Aged Care facility in Werribee
19 cases have been linked to the Northern Hospital
16 cases have been linked to the Alfred Hospital
16 cases have been linked to Brunswick Private Hospital
16 cases have been linked to LaManna Supermarket Essendon
14 cases have been linked to St Vincent’s Hospital
12 cases have been linked to Western Health
8 cases have been linked to the Royal Melbourne Hospital
2 cases have been linked to the Mercy Hospital for Women in Heidelberg
2 cases have been linked to Kmart in Endeavour Hills
Five new nursing homes have reported cases: two cases have been linked to Aurrum Aged Care facility in Plenty. Single cases have been linked to Regis in Brighton; Grace Villa in Greensborough; Baptcare Wyndham Lodge Community in Werribee; and Bupa aged care facility in Sunshine.
