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Victoria ‘on track’ for eased virus rules, with zero new cases

Victorians are looking forward to a further relaxation of virus measures later this week, with no new community COVID cases on Tuesday.

Victorians are looking forward to a further relaxation of virus measures later this week, with no new community COVID cases on Tuesday. Photo: AAP

Victoria has had another welcome doughnut day on Tuesday, with no new local COVID-19 cases to report.

The zero day came from 15,067 test results in the previous 24-hour period, with 9997 vaccination doses delivered at state-run sites in the same time frame.

It followed confirmation from state Health Minister Martin Foley on Monday that the state remained “on track” to further wind back COVID rules this week.

In other developments, residents of a complex of more than 100 townhouses at Melbourne’s Southbank were all being tested as Victorian authorities try to stamp out a potential outbreak of the virus.

On Monday, health authorities revealed a case reported at the weekend was believed to have caught the coronavirus from another case in a shared space at the complex.

Mr Foley confirmed the man, aged in his 30s, lives in the townhouse complex. A worker from Arcare Maidstone, who had earlier contracted the virus through the aged-care home, also lives there.

“The epidemiology, the interviews with the two cases involved and the genomic sequencing seems to support that,” Mr Foley said on Monday.

“What we’re trying to do is to run down the particular circumstances of that and make sure that if there are any chains of transmission out there, that we identify them early and cut them off.”

Shared facilities at the townhouses have been assessed as private exposure sites and testing of all residents began on Monday.

“Most residents will simply be required to test and isolate until negative … but a smaller number … will most likely have to isolate for 14 days,” Mr Foley said.

Victorian contact tracers are also looking at several cases of the virus contracted near a Thomastown industrial precinct, in Melbourne’s north.

“There are as many as 10 public and private exposure sites within this particular pocket of Thomastown, with some broad overlap between a number of the positive cases,” Mr Foley said.

“We want to use this as an opportunity to remind everyone who was in that industrial precinct, whether you deliver goods there, whether you are part of the service delivery to that particular industrial precinct, just to think about any symptoms that you may have had.”

More than 2000 Victorians remained in isolation after coming into contact with a positive case, while about 130 exposure sites remained listed as of Monday afternoon.

Mr Foley said increased testing would help authorities “run down those last few chains of transmission” left in the outbreak.

The outbreak, which began in the local government area of Whittlesea, forced Melbourne into a two-week lockdown, which ended on Friday.

The lockdown was replaced with strict restrictions, including a ban on home gatherings, a 25-kilometre travel limit and mandatory masks indoors and out. Those rules will remain until at least June 18.

Regional Victorians are allowed two visitors at home, while density limits are in place at restaurants, pubs and cafes, gyms and other venues.

-with AAP

Topics: victoria
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