Victorian shoppers warned to limit supermarket outings as state records 190 new COVID-19 cases

By Cassandra MorganUpdated September 4, 2021 â€" 2.34pmfirst published at 8.38am

Victorians are being warned to limit their food shopping outings as more supermarkets are being visited by confirmed COVID-19 cases.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton urged consumers to use click-and-collect services to get food and essential goods, saying that supermarkets were emerging as a growing source of transmission.

Long lines of people wanting to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at Melbourne Town Hall on Friday.Credit:Paul Jeffers

“Many thousands of Victorians will shop alongside those who are not yet diagnosed with COVID-19”, he said on Saturday, adding that authorities had seen transmission between people “going through the same checkout within a couple of minutes”.

While supermarkets are generally not high-risk, he said, they were high volume for coronavirus contacts. “So, a reminder that it’s one member for each household, once a day.

“If you can click and collect for your shopping, please do so - go less frequently.”

The warning comes as Victoria recorded 190 new local coronavirus cases on Saturday.

More than 100 cases have been linked to the state’s current Delta outbreak, and health authorities are investigating the acquisition source for the remaining 87.

No new cases were recorded in the state’s hotel quarantine. Saturday’s cases were reported from nearly 49,550 COVID-19 tests.

The Department of Health did not specify how many of the cases were in isolation throughout their entire infectious period.

Victoria records 190 new local cases

96 cases were recorded in the northern suburbs

55 in the western suburbs

14 in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs

11 in Melbourne’s inner south

Six in the city of Melbourne

Three in the eastern suburbs

One on the Mornington Peninsula

Four in Shepparton

SOURCE: Victorian CHO Professor Brett Sutton

Of the state’s 1301 active coronavirus cases, 205 are children aged between zero and nine. Another 213 are aged between 10 and 19 years old, 316 are in their 20s, and 224 are in their 30s.

A fully vaccinated staff member at Japara Bayview Aged Care Home at Carrum Downs was among Saturday’s new cases.

New $2.3b support package for Victorian businesses

On Saturday, Jobs Minister Martin Pakula announced a $2.3 billion business support package for 175,000 Victorian businesses affected by the COVID-19 lockdown extension.

The support package, jointly funded by the state and Commonwealth government, will be spread across various programs, with $289 million going to the licensed hospitality venue fund in the form of grants up to $20,000.

The small business COVID hardship fund is getting an additional $448 million added to it, and the grant amount under that fund will increase from $14,000 to 20,000. The number of businesses supported by that fund will also increase from 18,000 to 35,000.

Under that scheme, businesses generally get a grant of $2800 per week.

‘We’ve held a tsunami of cases back for 20 months’: Sutton

Professor Brett Sutton said he believed it was possible the state’s case numbers could plateau with high vaccination coverage and a relatively low COVID-19 caseload.

“There is really only one way to protect yourself, and that’s following the rules,” he said.

“There’s no question that it’s hard, [however], the alternative is too awful to contemplate.”

“Tens of thousands of cases could be our reality if we don’t maintain ... those really tricky constraints on our life, [and] that’s just the awful dilemma that we’ve had right through.

“We’ve held a tsunami of cases back for 20 months. It’s come to us in waves, we’ve beaten it back in waves [and] we’ve got maybe the biggest challenge that we’ve ever faced.

“We’ve held a tsunami of cases back for 20 months. It’s come to us in waves, we’ve beaten it back in waves ... we’ve got maybe the biggest challenge that we’ve ever faced.”

Professor Brett Sutton

“But we’ve also got a proper pathway out of here with vaccination, so hold the line in these last weeks and months until we get the high vaccination coverage that means that we can have greater confidence about seeing people ... initially outdoors, initially in those ventilated settings, and in smaller numbers, but we will get there.”

Boys’ school first in Victoria to mandate vaccinations for staff

Catholic boys’ school Xavier College has told staff they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 before the start of term four, in what is believed to be the first move by a Victorian school to mandate the jab for its staff.

Xavier principal William Doherty told staff “a duty of care inevitably exists” for those who work closely with children to be vaccinated and said that families and colleagues “should be able to expect every precaution to protect their health and safety”.

Exemptions to the vaccination mandate would only be granted in the most exceptional circumstances, he said.

Mr Sutton on Saturday said he expected to see more schools to follow suit.

The state’s year 12 students are being prioritised to get their COVID-19 jabs in a vaccination “blitz”, from September 7 through to 17, with bookings to open on Monday.

Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said on Friday that authorities were undertaking extensive work on classroom ventilation ahead of students returning to face-to-face learning in term four - although a date is yet to be set for their return.

“This is all about making sure our senior students who are sitting those year 12 exams have certainty, and have at least one dose as they head into that exam period,” Mr Andrews said.

“There will also be a number of teaching staff and examiners and people who supervise that activity who will need to be vaccinated, and will be part of that process.”

Exposure sites grow

Meantime, exposure sites continue to grow across the state, with health authorities identifying several new tier-1 sites on Saturday.

The new sites include Kasr Sweets at Coolaroo, Woolworths at Niddrie Central Shopping Centre and Foodworks at Roxburgh Park.

The Panorama construction office on Prospect Street at Box Hill was also listed as a tier-1 site, as were offices at Thomastown and Wheelers Hill.

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