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Two more deaths, 423 new local cases in Victoria

The ASU says 46-year-old Martin Blight died of COVID after catching it at his Melbourne workplace.

The ASU says 46-year-old Martin Blight died of COVID after catching it at his Melbourne workplace. Photo: Supplied

Victoria has another 423 coronavirus infections and two deaths, as total active infections in the state climbs above 4000 cases.

The two deaths bring the toll from the state’s current outbreak to eight.

The health department on Wednesday confirmed 149 cases were linked to known outbreaks, with the source of the remaining 274 under investigation.

In the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, 54,649 tests were processed and 41,856 Victorians received a vaccine dose at a state-run hub, with the number of active cases in the state reaching 4038.

The department said more information on the cases and two deaths will be provided later on Wednesday.

It is not yet known if one of the deaths is a 46-year-old man who worked at a Serco call centre in Mill Park.

Martin Blight became infected with COVID-19 after a workplace outbreak and died in hospital on Monday, according to the Australian Services Union.

He “became unwell with coronavirus” after being identified as a close contact due to his workplace becoming a tier one exposure site, the ASU said.

The union remembered Mr Blight as “a committed ASU member, a father, a friend to many” and said his family encourages everyone to get vaccinated “as soon as possible so that no one else has to go through the trauma of losing someone to COVID-19”.

It’s not known if he was vaccinated but he had a Pfizer vaccine booked in for September, according to his Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed Victoria’s roadmap out of lockdown will be released on Sunday.

The roadmap, outlining restrictions through to November, will rely on Burnet Institute modelling of vaccination and hospitalisation rates.

Additionally, once 70 per cent of eligible Victorians have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine – expected on Friday – Melburnians will get an extra hour of outdoor activity and the travel radius will be expanded from five to 10 kilometres.

The state government also announced it will spend another $22 million on mental health, including pop-up clinics across the state.

-AAP

Topics: victoria
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