Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the state's coronavirus contact-tracing team after 13 more cases linked to a cluster at a Melbourne meatworks were confirmed, bringing the total to 62.
Key points:
- All but one of Victoria's new cases are linked to a cluster at Cedar Meats in Melbourne's west
- The state has reached a target of 100,000 coronavirus tests ahead of Monday's deadline when restrictions will be reviewed
- Premier Daniel Andrews has not ruled out more cases being found at the meatworks cluster
At a press conference this morning, Mr Andrews said 14 more people had tested positive to coronavirus in Victoria in the past 24 hours, bringing the state's total to 1,454.
Mr Andrews said seven of the new cases were workers at Cedar Meats Australia and six were close contacts of workers at the facility.
The meatworks-related cases were generally considered to be "mild" and none were in hospital, he said.
"That's the nature of outbreaks," he said.
"This is a very infectious disease. It spreads rapidly."
He said the source of the one non-meatworks-related case was still under investigation.
'Ambitious' testing target reached
Mr Andrews also revealed that Victoria had reached its target of 100,000 coronavirus tests before restrictions were due to be reviewed on Monday.
He said 106,000 tests had been conducted in the past week and a half.
Mr Andrews said he was "so pleased and proud" of Victorians for getting tested and reaching the "ambitious target".
"That surveillance work, that checking, is very, very important," he said.
"The last thing we want to do is ease any of those restrictions without a sense of confidence that we are truly on top of this."
He urged people to continue getting tested if they had symptoms, saying the data would give the state "more options".
While restrictions are expected to be eased in many states over the weekend, Mr Andrews reiterated that Victoria's stage three restrictions would not change until the State of Emergency ended on Monday.
He declined to comment on what form those changes might take but said more information would be provided on Monday, when Victorians would be given some idea about what restrictions would be in place for the rest of May.
He said the worst thing Australians could do would be to "fritter away" all the gains made by relaxing restrictions too early and letting the virus get away again.
"There isn't a jurisdiction in the world that has gone that way that hasn't had harder lockdowns the second time around compared to the first," he said.
"Everyone wants to be with their mum but let's be really cautious, let's be really careful not to be spreading the virus. We've come a long way. Let's not give it all back."
Mr Andrews said he would not criticise people for wanting to spend time with their families on Mother's Day, which is on Sunday.
"She's in her mid-70s. She's in good health but she has some underlying health issues and I just wouldn't do it, [even though] I'd very much like to."
Meatworks cluster cases could continue to increase
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien has called for an independent inquiry into the way the Government has handled the cluster, questioning why the facility was not told when the first worker tested positive on April 2 and calling it Victoria's Ruby Princess.
However, Mr Andrews backed Health Minister Jenny Mikakos's previous comments that the cluster had been handled "absolutely perfectly".
He said the contact tracers took the worker at his word that he had not been on site recently and saw no reason to contact the facility at that time.
"He said he hadn't been at work for four weeks," he said.
"There's no connection in terms of sites or the notion he got it at his workplace or gave it to anyone at his workplace because he wasn't at his workplace."
If contact tracers could not rely on getting accurate information from people who tested positive to coronavirus the job would become "almost impossible", he added.
He said Victorians should all be grateful for the "massive effort" the contact-tracing team was doing and he was "very confident they will continue to do an outstanding job".
He said investigating a cluster was a massive, complex exercise and sometimes contacts were not obvious.
"That's what the team of more than 1,000 coronavirus detectives do," Mr Andrews said.
"But as good as their work is, sometimes this will get away from you in a given workplace, or a given household, or a given setting.
He commended the work of the public health team, calling them "passionate and committed" and "some of the best contact tracers in the world".
McDonald's worker tests positive to coronavirus
McDonald's Australia this morning confirmed an employee at its Fawkner restaurant had been diagnosed with coronavirus and was self-isolating at home.
A statement from the restaurant chain said there was no suggestion the employee was exposed to the virus at the site and the employee last worked there on April 30.
The company had notified all employees at the restaurant and received official confirmation of a positive diagnosis from the Department of Health this morning.
"McDonald's response, including its communication with its employees and sanitisation procedures, is above and beyond the Department's requirements and the restaurant is approved to remain open," the McDonald's statement said.
The company had asked seven crew and one manager to self-isolate for 14 days from Tuesday, in accordance with its procedures, a spokesperson said.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA1LTA3L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNhc2VzLWluY3JlYXNlLWF0LW1lbGJvdXJuZS1tZWF0d29ya3MtY2VkYXItbWVhdHMvMTIyMTk0NzLSASdodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTIyMTk0NzI?oc=5
2020-05-07 03:39:43Z
52780765360532
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Coronavirus cluster at Melbourne's Cedar Meats abattoir grows to 62, as 13 more cases confirmed - ABC News"
Post a Comment