By Brendan Rees and Danielle Kutchel
Crowds are flocking to a coronavirus testing site in Berwick following an alarming surge of new infections across the state.
The state’s outbreak has prompted Health Minister Jenny Mikakos to say the State Government was “very concerned about the level of transmission” of six local government areas including Casey City which had been identified as coronavirus hotspots, with police ramping up patrols.
“In the legal directions that have come in today, we have not issued stay at home directions for those hotspots areas but of course we don’t rule anything out,” Ms Mikakos said.
Victoria has notched up its eighth consecutive day of double-digit case growth – with cases rising by 20 to 1884 in the 24 hours to Wednesday 24 June – a figure labelled as “concerning” by Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.
It comes as a Cranbourne aged-care home was placed in lockdown on Saturday 20 June after an elderly resident tested positive to coronavirus.
All close contacts have been ordered into home quarantine and all residents and staff at the Lifeview Willow Wood facility will undergo testing after a single resident was diagnosed with the virus.
Ms Mikakos said a rapid response outbreak squad, which is staffed by public health specialists and clinicians, had visited the Duff Street facility to ensure appropriate testing, contact tracing and deep cleaning was carried out.
According to the latest health data on Wednesday 24 June, nine active cases of the virus were recorded in Casey City while Greater Dandenong had four cases and Cardinia five.
Currently seven people are in hospital, including two patients in intensive care, according to the 24 June figures.
There are now 241 confirmed cases believed to be related to community transmission in the state.
Meanwhile, crowds continue to flock to nearby testing sites. A drive-through testing site at Fountain Gate was closed earlier this month, but testing site at Gibb Street in Berwick has seen queues around the block.
A new pop-up drive-through testing site will be opened at Casey Fields in Cranbourne East on Thursday 25 June.
Hundreds of staff will be going door-to-door in Casey from Wednesday 24 June to ensure locals understand the virus, where to get tested and how to access financial support if they need to self-isolate, according to a DHHS spokesperson.
Testing sites will only test people if they exhibit symptoms of the virus.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the Federal Government’s chief advisory body, said in a statement it had been briefed about the outbreak in Victoria and noted its “immediate concern” of the coronavirus hotspot areas including Casey.
“The AHPPC strongly discourages travel to and from those areas until control of community transmission has been confirmed,” it said.
