After health authorities in Victoria quietly extended the state of emergency for the 17th time since the pandemic began, doubts have been raised over when Melbourne s lockdown will actually end.
An uncle and his nephew, from the northern suburbs of Epping and Lalor, were tested together on Sunday: the uncle for his routine monthly test, the nephew because he had some symptoms, according to Health Department sources. Their results came back positive on Monday.
By Tuesday several close contacts had tested positive, including “case 5”, the man contact tracers identified as the “index case” at the centre of the cluster, who moved through Melbourne for several days while infectious before getting tested.
By Wednesday morning the cluster had grown to 15 and on Wednesday night, when Professor Sutton and ministers met, it was in the mid-20s.
Lockdown in the Australian state is expected to be extended beyond Thursday, as authorities reveal a positive Melbourne case travelled to New South Wales while potentially infectious.
Victoria s snap-seven day lockdown is set to be extended for up to two weeks
Policymakers and health officials held late-night crisis talks on Tuesday
Victoria recorded six locally acquired cases on Wednesday from 51,033 tests
The rapidly-spreading outbreak has now climbed to 60 locally-acquired cases
Yet another vulnerable aged care facility is quarantined after being exposed
NSW issued an urgent alert that a Covid-positive case travelled across NSW