Tate Papworth
While the spread of COVID-19 may be slowing, three new cases in Melton for the week ending Thursday served as a reminder that the pandemic is far from over.
Melton now has a total of 21 confirmed cases, while Moorabool still has just one recorded case.
It follows the Victorian government’s announcement of a massive expansion of testing.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton urged anyone in doubt to get tested.
“Up to 100,000 Victorians will be tested for coronavirus over the next two weeks as part of a major testing blitz across the state,” professor Brett Sutton said.
“Victorians have done a remarkable job sticking to the coronavirus restrictions, and by staying home have saved lives. We are now asking Victorians to again play their part and get tested if they have symptoms, because the more tests we do, the more data we have about the prevalence of coronavirus in the community.
“People with even the mildest of symptoms including fever, chills, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath, runny nose or loss of sense of smell are encouraged to get tested.
Last week the government rolled out six new mobile testing sites at Watergardens Town Centre, Bunnings West Footscray, Pacific Werribee, Pacific Epping,
Westfield Fountain Gate and Bayside Shopping Centre in Frankston.
They joined sites at Chadstone, Doncaster, Highpoint and Northland shopping centres – bringing the total so far to 10.
Additional sites in regional and suburban locations will come online in the coming days.
The testing sites will be manned by doctors, nurses and pathology collection staff.
People need to bring their Medicare card, or at least one form of identification when attending a testing station.
Signage will be established to guide people into the mobile testing sites, which will be located near the busiest parts of the shopping centres, such as supermarkets, with appropriate traffic management systems in place.
