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No new local COVID cases in Vic, after two linked to Sydney outbreak

Both of Melbourne's latest coronavirus cases work at this Sandringham dry cleaner.

Both of Melbourne's latest coronavirus cases work at this Sandringham dry cleaner. Photo: Google Maps

Victoria has confirmed two new coronavirus cases, both linked to the escalating outbreak that has sent Sydney into strict virus restrictions.

Both cases – a man from Oakleigh who caught the virus on a trip to Sydney to see family and his boss at a Sandringham dry cleaners – were reported on Thursday.

State health authorities said on Friday there were no additional local cases to report.

There were also no new cases in hotel quarantine. Victoria has 49 active infections.

Dry cleaner Henry Lee said he and his employee had worked together on Monday and Wednesday.

“We were really careful, we did everything right, we still got it,” he told Melbourne’s 3AW radio.

“[We] always wore masks, sanitising the hands, asking the customers to wear masks and check in.”

Mr Lee said he was isolating separately from his wife and two sons, who have so far received negative results.

Thursday’s new Victorian infections have led to the addition of several exposure sites, including Flinders Street Station.

The man from Oakleigh, in Melbourne’s inner-south-east, tested positive on Wednesday after going to a party at his daughter’s house in West Hoxton in Sydney on Saturday night. That gathering – with 12 linked virus cases – since been declared a super-spreader event.

The man, who is aged in his 60s, returned to Melbourne on Jetstar flight JQ523, which left Sydney at 5.30pm on Sunday.

  • See an updated list of Victoria’s exposure sites here

The flight has been listed as a tier-one exposure site, meaning anyone on board must get tested and isolate for 14 days.

He took a bus from the airport to Broadmeadows and then went by train to Flinders Street, then Flinders Street to Oakleigh to get home.

The bus and two trains are tier-two sites, meaning any other commuters will need to isolate until they get a negative test result.

The three train stations and several shops, including a Woolworths in Burwood East and a shopping centre, fruit shop and Asian grocery in Forest Hill have also been listed as exposure sites.

The dry-cleaning business in Sandringham, in bayside Melbourne, has been listed as a tier-one exposure site. QR code data from the business is also being analysed.

Elsewhere, Victoria has declared greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Shellharbour, Blue Mountains and Wollongong “red zones” under its travel permit system, meaning people from those areas are not able to travel to the state without an exemption.

Victorians can return home but will need to self-isolate for 14 days.

The Oakleigh man travelled back to Victoria from a Sydney suburb that was considered to be a “green zone” at the time.

Virus restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria also eased on Friday.

People across the state can have up to 15 visitors to their home, up from two in Melbourne and five in regional Victoria.

Funerals and weddings are now capped at 300 people. Hospitality venues can serve up to 300 in Melbourne but density limits still apply.

Masks must still be worn at indoor settings outside the home.

Offices in Melbourne are allowed 75 per cent capacity or 30 people, whichever is greater.

-with AAP

Topics: victoria
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