By Luke Voogt
Geelong has recorded seven new COVID-19 cases over the weekend and its second patient in intensive care with coronavirus since the pandemic began.
Barwon Health infectious diseases director Eugene Athan confirmed the patient this afternoon.
“We now have a patient admitted to University Hospital Geelong’s intensive care unit with COVID-19,” Professor Athan said.
“This is our second patient in the ICU with COVID-19 since the pandemic began.”
Greater Geelong had 13 active cases, 84 in total, as of midnight on Sunday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
Sunday’s increase of two followed five new cases in Geelong on Saturday.
The figures come as confirmed cases forced the closure of Drysdale and Grovedale West primary schools this morning.
But in a press conference today Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he would not impose stricter measures in Geelong.
“I think it’s important to acknowledge that Geelong is obviously a much bigger community than many other regional cities,” Mr Andrews said.
“So the number of cases as a raw measure are probably not the best guide, also a really important factor is how well contained they are, how many exposure days were there before we knew that there was a positive case, how confident are we that people are being traced, that people are staying at home, all of those factors come into play as well.”
Meanwhile, Colac has recorded 12 new cases since Friday, all linked to an outbreak at Australian Lamb Company abattoir.
The cases were the first recorded in the Colac Otway Shire since the pandemic began, according to the department.
Golden Plains Shire recorded another new case on Sunday, bringing its total active cases to five, while Surf Coast Shire currently has one active case.
Victoria recorded 275 new cases on Sunday with 29 cases reclassified – largely due to duplication – increasing the state total by 246 to 5942.
A woman her 80s died in hospital overnight, bringing the total deaths from COVID-19 in Victoria to 39.
Victoria currently has 2913 active cases and 1060 cases from unknown transmission.
Of the new cases, 28 are linked to outbreaks and 247 are under investigation. No new cases have been detected in returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
Currently 147 people are in hospital with COVID-19, including 31 in intensive care, while 2933 people have recovered from the virus.
Of the total cases, 5456 are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 348 are from regional Victoria. More than 1,331,000 tests have been processed to date.
State government is scheduled to introduce mandatory mask-wearing laws on Thursday for anyone leaving home in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.
While the laws will not apply for the rest state, authorities have recommended other Victorians wear masks when leaving home.
Cases currently linked to public housing in North Melbourne, Flemington and Carlton are as follows:
287 cases are residents of various public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington.
54 cases are residents of various public housing towers in Carlton.
Cases currently linked to key outbreaks are as follows:
173 cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa College
57 cases have been linked to Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham
36 cases have been linked to JBS in Brooklyn
4 cases have been linked to Nestle Campbellfield
12 cases have been linked to Australian Lamb Company in Colac
5 cases have been linked to Australian Pharmaceutical Industries in Dandenong South
13 cases have been linked to Goodman Fielder Pampas in West Footscray
13 cases have been linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner
40 cases have been linked to Estia Health in Ardeer
28 cases have been linked to Glendale Aged Care facility in Werribee
18 cases have been linked to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park campus
20 cases have been linked to LaManna Supermarket in Essendon Fields
14 cases have been linked to Embracia Aged Care Moonee Valley in Avondale Heights
5 cases have been linked to Japara Central Park Aged Care Home in Windsor
The following schools have closed for cleaning and further investigation following notification of a case:
Charles La Trobe College
Roxburgh College
Overport Primary School
Drysdale Primary School
Toorak Primary School
Princes Hill Secondary College
Pascoe Vale Girls Secondary College
Grovedale West Primary School
Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School
Trinity College Colac
Parkville College – Malmsbury Campus
Leibler Yavneh College
