Victoria cases are falling but regional spread feared
New clusters in areas surrounding Melbourne
While coronavirus cases in Melbourne seem to be dropping after the record high of 725 last Thursday, the virus is expanding its reach with officials worried about the next “terrible scenario” for Victoria.
On Wednesday, the number of active coronavirus cases fell in the state for the first time in two months, and cases continued to fall yesterday with 278 in the past 24 hours.
However, now there are concerns clusters of the virus are appearing in new places around Victoria.
Despite the stage 4 lockdowns, leaders say they are seeing the disease reach new suburbs and regional areas through the public transport network.
Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh said: “There needs to be more done to stop the disaster happening in Melbourne spreading into the regions.”
Cases in areas in regional Victoria have been described as “stubbornly persistent”, by physician and journalist Dr Norman Swan, with health experts calling for tougher, stricter management of the movement of Melburnians travelling to regions outside the CBD.
“We know that’s been a source of transmission for a number of outbreaks,” Bendigo Health’s chief executive, Peter Faulkner said.
There have been 957 confirmed cases in regional Victoria since the pandemic began.
Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo have all been listed as “problem” areas and while regional Victoria entered stage 3 lockdown last Wednesday, concerns have been raised over the “terrible scenario” that could see the virus take off in country areas.
Last week, Bendigo had eight active cases. It now sits at 53. But the virus is moving around.
So far the virus has hit St Joseph’s that’s from primary school in Bendigo with 16 active cases, a poultry farm in Bendigo with 20 active cases and another in Geelong with 44 cases. One worker at Golden Farms Poultry in Geelong died last week.
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Colac Otway, a meatworks outbreak is down to 74 active cases in the past week and in Opal South Valley aged care home in Geelong, 38 people have tested positive while two residents have died. More schools and even two Hungry Jack’s outlets in Ballarat have also been hit.
“You could envisage a terrible scenario that they solve the problem in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire but regional Victoria takes off big time,” Dr Swan said. “And it doesn’t take much to take off.”
Residents in country areas are becoming increasingly concerned that authorities are not monitoring the movements of Melburnians on public transport, according to Walsh, who made the comments after a rising number of infections were recorded in regional Victoria.
“They’re just beside themselves with worry about their future, so going to stage 4 would be even worse,” he said.
Walsh has been backed up by Bendigo Health’s Peter Faulkner who told the ABC: “There is a link with a number of [rural] outbreaks with the metropolitan area.”
Figures from the Victorian Health Department show Greater Geelong had 179 active cases on Wednesday, with 53 in Bendigo and 22 in Ballarat compared to last week with 132 active cases in Greater Geelong, 29 in Bendigo and 13 in Ballarat.
The overall total coronavirus cases in regional Victoria on Wednesday was 512, a number Premier Daniel Andrews described as “quite low”.
But, Dr Swan said: “If you take the average, the trend is up.
“There is virus circulating in regional Victoria and that’s underpinning some of the numbers that you’re seeing out of Victoria.”
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