Herald on Sunday

Victoria hunts for virus source

- — news.com.au

Victoria recorded five new locally acquired coronaviru­s cases yesterday, along with one case in hotel quarantine.

The state now has 78 active cases, while the outbreak stands at 69 infections.

According to the Health Department, there were 36,362 test results received in the 24 hours prior and 24,263 vaccine doses administer­ed.

Three people remained in hospital with Covid-19 but none required intensive care.

The new figures come after it was revealed that the “Delta” strain of coronaviru­s had been found in nine people in Melbourne, including four children.

B. 1.617.2 is the same coronaviru­s strain that has decimated India.

A search is now under way to find the source in Melbourne after genetic testing showed the strain had infected at least two people in a family of four who travelled to NSW’s Jervis Bay in late May.

The strain has not been traced to existing Delta infections, including in hotel quarantine.

The variant is different from the rest of the Victorian outbreak — another subtype of the Indian variant, known as Kappa.

Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton said there was anecdotal evidence the Delta variant was more serious and infectious in children.

“However it’s been more reassuring that we tend to see less transmissi­on in school settings and between children.

“But we have to be alive to new evidence and obviously what has occurred here.”

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