Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Victoria re-taking the testing total lead

WA reporting a new case, from international quarantine

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Vic's new Covid 19 cases are once again mainly in the S/SE. Most cases have already been classified.

Today's VIc DHHS Report:

Salient point below.

Media release
03 October 2020

Victoria has recorded eight new cases of coronavirus since yesterday, with the total number of cases now at 20,197.
The overall total has increased by six due to two cases being reclassified.

Six of today’s eight new cases have been linked to known outbreaks or complex cases. Four are linked to the Butcher Club at Chadstone Shopping Centre outbreak and two are linked to healthcare facilities. The other two cases remain under investigation.

Of today’s eight new cases, there are two cases in Monash and single cases in Boroondara, Casey, Melton, Moreland, Whitehorse and Wyndham.

There have been three new deaths from COVID-19 reported since yesterday. One woman aged in her 80s and two women aged in their 90s.

All three of today’s new deaths are linked to known aged care facility outbreaks. To date, 805 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria.

.......

Non-aged care outbreaks with the highest number of active cases include:

• 15 active cases are currently linked to The Butcher Club outbreak (total cases: 15)
• 7 active cases are currently linked to the Springvale shared accommodation outbreak (total cases: 8)
• 4 active cases are currently linked to Alfred Hospital (total cases: 12)
• 3 active cases are currently linked to the Casey community outbreak (total cases: 45)
• 3 active cases are currently linked to Western Health Sunshine (total cases: 3)

For the full report go to Department of Health and Human Services Victoria | Coronavirus update for Victoria - 03 October 2020

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Just to add to the confusion of knowing or not (my bolding )....

Professor Sutton said the nine workers who became infected were:

• Three workers from Spotless who lived together
• Two other Spotless workers who lived together in a separate household
• Another Spotless worker
• A member of Victoria Police who was linked to a separate outbreak
• A person who worked in support and cleaning services
• A DHHS staff member who had contact with a known case elsewhere

He said the hotel quarantine infections reflected the fact that "cleaning services are a vulnerable cohort for infection".

Earlier on Friday DHHS said three of the infected staff members had contact with known outbreaks — one connected to Victoria Police, one aged care facility, and one public housing outbreak.

However it is still not clear which workers were connected to which known outbreak.

Professor Sutton said he did not know whether the hotel quarantine worker whose infection was linked to aged care was also working in that setting.

'Substantial community transmission' in Melbourne likely led to hotel worker infections, Sutton says

An investigation suggests it's unlikely the Melbourne hotel quarantine workers who recently developed COVID-19 were infected while at work, Victoria's Chief Health Officer says.

www.abc.net.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

He said the hotel quarantine infections reflected the fact that "cleaning services are a vulnerable cohort for infection".

My listening to him at the time was that he was reflecting that cleaning services are a vunerable (and vunerable can have various meanings including being low paid with little or no sick leave) cohort in the second wave, and that this cluster was reflective of what had happened elsewhere (ie aged care cleaners, hospital cleaners......and dare I say the cleaner at the Butchers Club who brought it to their workplace)

However it is still not clear which workers were connected to which known outbreak.

3 of the 9 did not have viable genomic sequencing.

Even with the ones that you do the sequencing does not always confirm a direct link as they may not have been significant change in just a one person generation of the virus, but rather that they are both from the same "branch" of the virus.

Also when you have a complex case of several clusters mixing it may be difficult or impossible to know exactly whom infected whom.

ie With the Butcher Club did the cleaner directly infect everyone at the Butcher Club, or did staff also infect each other? The cleaner may have been near all employees and with fomite transmission may also have infected everyone that way. There may have beena chain of transmission, or just all direct from the one cleaner. It could be a mish mash, or just from the cleaner and they may never know. That is it may never be clear who exactly infected whom, but if they are all in the same branch of the genome then that will confirm that all cases are linked, even if they do not exactly the transmission sequence.

Professor Sutton said he did not know whether the hotel quarantine worker whose infection was linked to aged care was also working in that setting.

I think you are perhaps reading too much into a response at a presser. Sutton does not perform the contact tracing interviews and as such would not be 100% across all the questions asked in each interview. My assumption would be that he did not know, would just be an honest answer at the presser that he does not know, as in at that moment in time.

From memory their partner was at an aged care facility that had an outbreak, they quite possibly are both cleaners and so they may or may not have cleaned elsewhere. One would hope that contact tracer asked for all places that they had worked recently. But that doe not mean that Sutton would know the answer off the top of his head.

 

[Pushka]

I guess we all interpret various inputs of information to confirm our individual opinions as to what is happening, or not. I am of the ‘once bitten twice shy’ type. EMMV.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I think you are perhaps reading too much into a response at a presser. Sutton does not perform the contact tracing interviews and as such would not be 100% across all the questions asked in each interview. My assumption would be that he did not know, would just be an honest answer at the presser that he does not know, as in at that moment in time.

From memory their partner was at an aged care facility that had an outbreak, they quite possibly are both cleaners and so they may or may not have cleaned elsewhere. One would hope that contact tracer asked for all places that they had worked recently. But that doe not mean that Sutton would know the answer off the top of his head.

You were asking @Pushka for a quote about not knowing the tracing and I presented a quote. For clarity, I’m not reading too much into the response, I was just pointing out the quote that may have been referencing that someone (Vic CHO or Vic DHHS) did not know the details of the link at the time the question was posed.

Can you please provide a quote that the case of the quarantine worker who was linked to an aged care facility is as your memory recalls? Thanks.

 

[Pushka]

You were asking @Pushka for a quote about not knowing the tracing and I presented a quote. For clarity, I’m not reading too much into the response, I was just pointing out the quote that may have been referencing that someone (Vic CHO or Vic DHHS) did not know the details of the link at the time the question was posed.

Can you please provide a quote that the case of the quarantine worker who was linked to an aged care facility is as your memory recalls? Thanks.

That wasn't me who mentioned the aged care worker?

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

That wasn't me who mentioned the aged care worker?

I thought you were saying someone didn’t know the tracing.....

Edit: the quote i found refers to the aged care link. Not saying you mentioned the aged care worker/link.

 

[Pushka]

I thought you were saying someone didn’t know the tracing.....

That was based on the statement from "Health Department" saying something like they couldn't be sure where the recent quarantine workers became infected (or words to that effect before I get corrected on this comment). I didn't go into any of the aged care situation. And I was also agreeing with your post @1.55 - Post 223 )

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

That was based on the statement from "Health Department" saying something like they couldn't be sure where the recent quarantine workers became infected (or words to that effect before I get corrected on this comment). I didn't go into any of the aged care situation. And I was also agreeing with your post @1.55 - Post 223 )

I think we are on similar track......Lol

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

SA reports no new cases, down to 1 active case remaining.

 

[Pushka]

SA reports no new cases, down to 1 active case remaining.

We are expecting more overseas arrivals soon. The people getting it in SA seem to be in their twenties and travellers so that seems to make for a quicker recovery. Or more like, test negative after being positive.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

You were asking @Pushka for a quote about not knowing the tracing and I presented a quote. For clarity, I’m not reading too much into the response, I was just pointing out the quote that may have been referencing that someone (Vic CHO or Vic DHHS) did not know the details of the link at the time the question was posed.

Can you please provide a quote that the case of the quarantine worker who was linked to an aged care facility is as your memory recalls? Thanks.

Ok Sutton in the video below talks about the Quarantine Hotel Cases at about the the at 29.30minute mark states that he can find out for you, but does not know


So hence My assumption would be that he did not know, would just be an honest answer at the presser that he does not know, as in at that moment in time was fairly accurate.

https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1eaJbzzkwLvJX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1311841391627038720%7Ctwgr%5Eshare_3&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2F7NewsMelbourne2Fstatus2F1311841391627038720widget%3DTweet

Everyone has an opinion, and we do not have to agree. Some obviously believe that Victorian contact is still poor. Personally my opinion is that it is now quite good.

The recent cases linked to the Health Hotels, but not actually created by the Health hotels were squashed. As Sutton noted all staff involved did the right thing in their behaviours.

The other three notable clusters at present and were where people have done the wrong thing have also been brought under control

• The Casey Family Cluster
• The Frankston family cluster which created the Butcher Club Cluster

So personally my opinion is that contact tracing in Victoria is working well in recent times.

 

[SydneySwan]

Vic today 12 / 1

 

[lovetravellingoz]

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Looks like at least 1 new case in Regional Vic

Edit: ‘only’ Mitchell Shire

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Qld no new cases, 6 active remaining

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

NSW

For the ninth consecutive day, NSW has reported no recent cases of locally transmitted #COVID19 Two cases in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,045.

 

[RooFlyer]

I hope this is a beat up (source, the Hobart Mercury, AKA The Mockery), but :

Security guards caught mingling with Launceston hotel quarantine guests

A Tasmanian doctor in hotel quarantine claims security guards are interacting with guests and sharing cigarettes in the facility’s car park without PPE or appropriate social distancing.

A LAUNCESTON doctor in hotel quarantine says security guards are interacting with guests in the facility’s car park without personal protective equipment or appropriate social distancing.

The man, who wished to remain anonymous, is in quarantine at Launceston’s Best Western Plus hotel after flying home from Melbourne more than a week ago.

He took photos, which he claims show security staff and guests, talking with either no masks worn or they have been pulled under their chins.

There is also limited social distancing in the photographs seen by The Mercury.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Concern for Melbourne.....from ABC Covid live blog

Concerns remain in Victoria over mystery cases

Victoria's Chief Health Officer has expressed concern about an uptick in the number of "mystery" COVID-19 cases, or cases with an unknown source, in the state.

There were 13 mystery cases in Melbourne in the fortnight to October 1, an increase of two from a day earlier.

"Mystery cases ... remain a concern with an uptick in the 14-day rolling average," Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.

Professor Sutton said there were three additional mystery cases not included in today's figures.

Those cases were found in the south-east and west of Melbourne in postcodes 3145, 3023 and 3019.

"One single case of unknown acquisition - we don't know what it represents but it might represent five true cases out there. It might represent 10 or 15 cases out there because we don't know where they got it from," Professor Sutton said.

"It's really a call to arms … anyone in those postcodes should be aware that there's transmission in those postcodes."