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Positive COVID-19 case attended MCG during Test match

A man who attended the MCG Test match between Australia and India has tested positive for coronavirus.

A man who attended the MCG Test match between Australia and India has tested positive for coronavirus. Photo: AAP

A person with coronavirus has visited the MCG on day two of the Melbourne Test.

The positive case was the one new local case of coronavirus in the last day, with another two cases diagnosed in international travellers.

It takes the number of active cases in the state to 41.

Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said the locally acquired case attended day two of the cricket of the Australia-India Test and is currently isolating.

“The Department of Health and Human Services has listed the MCG as a potential acquisition site,” Ms Allan said.

The health department is also investigating a possible New South Wales link to the case, declaring both the MCG and Chadstone shopping centre as a potential acquisition site.

Ms Allan said health authorities don’t believe the man in his 30s was infectious during his visit to the MCG on December 27.

But people seated in the Great Southern Stand’s zone 5 between 12.30pm to 3.30pm have been asked to get tested and self-isolate.

“Anyone who was seated within that zone 5 bubble will be receiving a text message in the next couple of hours, advising them of the situation,” Ms Allan said on Wednesday.

A day before, the man attended the Boxing Day sales at Chadstone Shopping Centre from 6am to 2pm.

He developed symptoms on December 30 and contact tracing has revealed he had stayed home and self-isolated since New Year’s Eve.

Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said it was a mystery case.

Testing lifted for a third straight day, with 37,509 swabs processed on Tuesday.

It is not yet clear whether the local case is related to the Black Rock Thai restaurant cluster.

Victoria’s list of exposure sites has almost hit 100, with two clothes retailers and a Sri Lankan restaurant in Melbourne added late on Tuesday.

A known case shopped at the Nike Company in South Melbourne on December 30 from 12:00pm to 12:45pm. Anyone in the store at this time must get tested and quarantine for 14 days.

Other health alerts have been issued for anyone at Melbourne’s Culture Kings store on Russell Street and Tamarind 8 in Narre Warren at specific times.

They are asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they develop.

It comes as the Victorian government asks for a review of the return-to-work plan for the public service and commercial offices ahead of planned changes on Monday.

The current outbreak linked to a Black Rock restaurant in bayside Melbourne, seeded from outbreaks in NSW, prompted the call for a review on Tuesday night.

The public service was due to move into the next phase of return to work from Monday – increasing office capacity to 25 per cent, ahead of a jump to 50 per cent on February 8.

Commercial offices are currently expected to be allowed up to 50 per cent capacity from January 11, but all changes remain subject to health advice.

The latest outbreak in Victoria had 27 local cases as of Tuesday, all linked back to a Thai restaurant in bayside Melbourne.

More than 1300 close contacts of those affected are in quarantine as health officials work to limit the spread.

Genomic testing has linked those cases to a cluster on Sydney’s northern beaches, one of several being managed by authorities in NSW.

Those outbreaks prompted a tough new border policy, which has left thousands of Victorians stranded on the wrong side.

There were 2798 exemption applications by Tuesday, with just 57 approved.

Police Minister Lisa Neville insists there will be no change to the exemption policy.

Victoria Police have turned away 1532 motorists trying to cross the border, issuing 1232 warnings and 50 fines to people caught “checkpoint shopping” or using misleading permit applications.

-with AAP

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