Covid 19 coronavirus: Melbourne cluster grows; authorities won’t rule out lockdown

Victoria’s Covid-19 infections have spiked overnight, with health authorities confirming 10 new local cases, five of which were reported yesterday.

This means five of the infections are new, with the other five confirmed throughout the day on Tuesday.

More than 25,000 test results were received during the reporting period.

The new cases bring the total number of infections in Melbourne’s cluster to 14, with fears it will continue to grow.

New Zealand suspended quarantine-free travel with Victoria for 72 hours from last night in response to the outbreak.

A man in his 60s, who was among the five cases announced yesterday, is believed to be the earliest known infection in the new outbreak.

The man, referred to as case 5, developed symptoms on May 17, with authorities believing he may have been infectious for almost 10 days before presenting for testing.

Later in the day it was announced four family contacts of the man also tested positive. He is also believed to have transmitted the virus to the first person discovered in the cluster, a man in his 30s.

That man then passed the virus on to three close family contacts spread across two households in Whittlesea, including a man in his 70s, a woman in her 70s and a preschool-aged child.

Everyone in the new cluster has been confirmed as having the Indian variant of the virus.

It comes after a raft of new restrictions were introduced across Melbourne from 6pm on Tuesday, including:

• A limit of five visitors per day for private households

• A limit of 30 people for public gatherings

• Masks required indoors for everyone aged 12 and over — even in workplaces — unless an exemption applies.

Victorian health authorities also sent a late-night update on Tuesday, revealing a positive coronavirus case attended a football game at the MCG and warning fans that they face being exposed to the virus.

Source: Read Full Article