Three schools closed Victorians mask up indoors as state records no new local COVID cases

Three Victorian schools have been closed and masks are again mandatory in all indoor settings as Victorian government ministers hold urgent meetings to combat a growing number of cases and high-risk exposure sites.

Victoria officially recorded 10 new cases on Thursday, but all had been reported throughout the day on Wednesday. All are linked to existing cases but more local cases are expected to be reported on Thursday.

Parents and carers at St Patrick’s Primary in Murrumbeena were asked to collect their children on Thursday morning after a student tested positive to the virus.

All grade 4 students at the Catholic school in Melbourne’s south-east were directed to go directly to a testing station before heading home and isolating until further notice. Students in other year levels have been encouraged to get tested.

St Patrick’s is the third Victorian school to close in the past 24 hours, following the closure of Bacchus Marsh Grammar and Barwon Heads Primary yesterday.

Victoria’s latest coronavirus outbreaks are both offshoots of Sydney’s Delta clusters: three Sydney removalists who breached their permit conditions and a person who returned from Sydney and was supposed to be isolating at home.

While masks are now mandated indoors across the state, plenty of Victorians are masking up outside too.Credit:Joe Armao

The list of high-risk exposure sites now includes more than 70 exposure sites including public transport routes, a CBD pub, the MCG, Highpoint Shopping Centre and DFO University Hill in Bundoora.

Western Australia on Wednesday enforced new border restrictions on visitors from Victoria, who must isolate for 14 days upon entering the state, while South Australia also tightened restrictions for Victorians, requiring them to undertake a COVID test within 24 hours of arriving and not enter high-risk settings such as aged care for 14 days after arriving.

Four of the cases announced on Wednesday were residents of the Ariele Apartments complex at Maribyrnong in Melbourne’s north-west. The parents of one of those residents, a man in his 60s, also tested positive, making cases five and six.

The seventh reported case was a man in his 30s who visited the same Coles in Craigieburn Central as an infectious City of Hume resident.

Case eight was a teacher from Bacchus Marsh Grammar who watched the Carlton versus Geelong AFL match at the MCG on Saturday with a friend who lives in the Ariele Apartments.

Two of his family members have also tested positive, becoming cases nine and 10.

Both Bacchus Marsh Grammar and Barwon Heads Primary School remain closed today after a positive case visited each school.

Victorian restrictions expected to be tightened

The Victorian Department of Health announced late on Wednesday evening that mask-wearing rules would be reintroduced from midnight.

Masks must be worn in all indoor areas, including in all workplaces and secondary schools.

Tighter restrictions for Victoria are expected to be announced at a press conference late on Thursday morning.

The eight senior cabinet ministers who are meeting on Thursday also met on Wednesday night. They include Premier Daniel Andrews.

Some experts have called for a return to work-from-home rules, while other restrictions announced on Thursday could include indoor crowd limits and restrictions on the number of visitors permitted in homes.

Monash University Associate Professor James Trauer told Seven’s Sunrise on Thursday morning a lockdown for Victoria “seems likely”.

“We have seen increasing cases over the last few days, more exposure sites every day and we know that if we go early with lockdowns, the earlier we go, the shorter they need to be,” he said.

“We need to get on top of this and we still don’t really understand the scale of the number of cases that have been created at the moment. I would really support an early lockdown.”

Experts watching Maribyrnong apartment complex infections closely

Dr Finn Romanes, who runs the Western Public Health Unit responsible for contact tracing in Melbourne’s western suburbs, said there were 153 close contacts in quarantine at the Ariele Apartments: 121 residents and 32 visitors.

While the data was still being analysed by public health teams, Dr Romanes told ABC Radio Melbourne it looked like the period between infections was dropping.

“Clearly, things are moving very fast... so what previously we saw around about three days between each circle of cases developing â€" one group of people would potentially infect another and at about three days later, you would see these cycles or generations of cases,” he said.

“Here within this outbreak since the exposures on the eighth and then the cases first coming to light on Sunday, we’ve got, it’s down to about two days, so it’s moving every couple of days, we’re seeing another ring of cases developed.

“So it’s absolutely crucial that the people take a series of steps now... but even double down on those steps to move ahead of that and get as fast as we can.”

The priority at any exposure site was to account for all the residents on the day or days of concern, but also to make sure everyone they dealt with received “COVID first aid”, Dr Romanes said.

“It’s reaching out to them, making sure they’re in isolation and getting tested and finding out their social circumstances.”

Exposure sites grow

The health department listed more than 30 fresh exposure sites late on Wednesday including medical and dental clinics, a variety of shops at a DFO in Bundoora and an ATM at Campbellfield Plaza.

Also added later were several public transport sites on July 10 from tier 1 to tier 3, including tram routes, train lines and three train stations including Flinders Street.

More tier-1 and tier-2 sites were added close to 11pm on Wednesday including a McDonald’s on July 11 and 13 (tier 1) and several tier-2 sites on July 11 including an Officeworks in Waurn Ponds and two service stations in Highton and Broadmeadows.

Also added in after 11pm were two sporting clubs in the tier-1 category. Barwon Heads Football and Netball Club (players and coaches) on July 12 from 4.30pm to 6pm and the Craigieburn Sporting Club on July 12 from 10.45am to 2.30pm.

Spectators at the Barwon Heads Football and Netball Club on July 12 from 4.30pm to 6pm should get tested according to tier 2 rules.

There were 27,061 COVID-19 test results processed in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday, and more than 15,161 people received their vaccine doses.

With Kate Rose, Broede Carmody, Michael Fowler, Annika Smethurst and Sumeyya Ilanbey

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Cassandra Morgan is a breaking news reporter at The Age.

Adam Carey is Education Editor. He joined The Age in 2007 and has previously covered state politics, transport, general news, the arts and food.

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