NINE NEW VIRUS CASES

Testing times as Greater Geelong infections climb again

CORONAVIRUS cases have surged in Greater Geelong, with nine new cases reported on Wednesday, bringing the number of active cases in the municipality to 44.

And while the owner of Golden Farms chicken processing plant on Monday confirmed 10 workers had tested positive for coronavirus, the DHHS had only six cases confirmed to be associated with the outbreak on Wednesday.

“As investigations are undertaken throughout the day, these outbreak totals are likely to change as the public health team identify links between cases and identified outbreaks,” a DHHS spokesperson said.

While 390 workers from the Breakwater plant tested negative, there were 20 workers with results still pending on Tuesday. The outcome of those tests was still not known on Wednesday night.

Turosi, which owns the plant, referred the Geelong Advertiser to the DHHS when asked about any results of the remaining tests.

One new coronavirus case was reported on Wednesday for Colac-Otway, which had 54 active cases.

Fifty-one cases have been linked to the outbreak at the Australian Lamb Company in Colac.

Two new coronavirus cases were reported on Wednesday for Golden Plains, where there were eight active cases.

Surf Coast remained steady, with three active cases, while the Borough of Queenscliffe remained free of any confirmed coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus restrictions for the Geelong and Colac regions were being reviewed on an ongoing basis, Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said.

When asked if there was discussion about Colac and Geelong returning to harsher restrictions, Prof Sutton said “all of those conversations” were ongoing. He said the vast majority of Colac cases were related to the outbreak at the Australian Lamb Company.

“We know who the close contacts are, we know what the controls are to put in place,” he said.

“We do need to keep an eye on those other cases in Colac that may not be related to that outbreak or may not be able to be linked back to that outbreak.

“That’s a consideration for Colac as is it for all regional areas, so it’s really a question of digging down to understand if there’s some community cases that don’t have an obvious source, because they’re the ones of concern.”

Nine additional fatalities were reported, bringing the state’s coronavirus death toll to 92. Seven of the new deaths were linked to aged care facilities.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Wednesday that every positive coronavirus case could expect a knock on the door from the public health team working alongside the Australian Defence Force.

Mr Andrews said the visits would ensure Victorians with coronavirus had the support they needed and understood the obligations of isolation.