Victoria records 450 new cases as exposure sites detected in regions

Victoria has recorded 450 new local cases of COVID-19 after several regional towns were added to the Health Department’s exposure site list overnight.

Seventy-five of the new locally acquired cases have been linked to known outbreaks.

Cliffy’s Emporium in Daylesford said a staff member had tested positive to COVID-19.

There were 39,148 vaccinations administered at state-run clinics on Friday, with more than 42,000 COVID-19 test results received.

A medical clinic and two cafes in the spa town of Daylesford, 114 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, have been listed as exposure sites, while confirmed COVID-19 cases visited sites in Lorne and Geelong.

A staff member at Cliffy’s Emporium in Daylesford tested positive for coronavirus after working a shift on September 7, with the cafe now listed as a tier-1 site.

“As you can imagine, it’s an awful situation for the staff member and the team to be in,” the hospitality business said on Facebook.

Springs Medical Daylesford has been listed as a tier-1 exposure sites by the Health Department, while Pancho Cafe in the town’s main shopping strip is considered tier two.

Nearby Beppe Kitchen + Bar - which has the same owners as Cliffy’s Emporium - confirmed a positive case also worked at its store on September 7, but it has not been listed as an exposure site.

The Stribling Reserve construction site in Lorne was added as a tier-1 exposure site late on Friday, with workers or visitors to the site on September 6 between 11.45 and 4.15pm required to get tested and quarantine for 14 days.

New tier-2 sites include Geelong Soul Pattinson Pharmacy, Total Tools Geelong and Sydney Tools North Geelong.

A blood donation centre in Melbourne’s south-western suburbs and a popular bakery in the northern suburbs were listed as tier-1 exposure sites on Saturday.

A1 Bakery in Brunswick said in a social media post that two staff members had tested positive to the virus overnight. It has since been listed for an exposure on September 5 and 6 between 7am and 4.30pm.

One staff member worked last Sunday through to Monday, while the other worked Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week.

“Because we were made aware of this very late in the week, we believe that if you visited our store at any time this week, it’s probably best to get tested,” the store said in a Facebook post. “All our staff will be tested today.”

Tier-1 exposures have also been listed at MEB Foods in Campbellfield, Mr Car Parts in Broadmeadows and Tank Services Australia in Brooklyn. Anyone who visited a tier-1 site must isolate for 14 days and get tested immediately for COVID-19.

Saturday’s 450 new cases aligned with the modelling from epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman, who said last Sunday he believed within a week, daily cases would be close to 450.

Last weekend, the chair of biostatistics at the University of South Australia said he was estimating 1834 daily cases by September 23, the date by when 70 per cent of the eligible population were initially forecast to be vaccinated with at least one dose.

Victorian COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said on Friday that authorities now expected the state to reach that 70 per cent first-dose target ahead of schedule.

“We think we’ll smash that by quite a few days,” Mr Weimar said.

Forty per cent of Victorians are now fully vaccinated against the virus, and 64.5 per cent of people have received at least one dose.

There are 127 people with COVID-19 in Victorian hospitals, with 33 people in intensive case. According to Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, 90 per cent of those hospitalised with the virus are unvaccinated, while 10 per cent have had one jab.

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