Benjamin Millar
Two Ballan locations have been listed as tier one exposure sites after being visited by a COVID-positive removalist team from NSW.
People who visited the Mobil and McDonalds stores on the westbound side of the Western Freeway between 5pm and 7pm Thursday, July 8, have been ordered to get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.
The exposure sites include the bathroom and shower facilities at the Mobil service station.
Victoria’s Covid commander Jeroen Weimar said on Tuesday that the removalist crew may not have adequately followed strict restrictions placed on them as part of their permit to enter Victoria.
“You’re in virtual isolation when you’re in Victoria, you need to wear a mask, you need to be socially distanced, you need to stay in your cabin all the time,” he said.
Mr Weimar said attempts to get detailed information from the removalists has proven “complex and challenging” due to a shortage of detail and inaccurate recollections.
A Maribyrnong apartment complex was sent into lockdown on Tuesday after revelations the removalists had spent about five hours at the site.
Ariele Apartments at 7 Thomas Holmes Street was listed as a tier one exposure site on Monday night.
The warnings come after the Department of Health was notified by NSW Health that a confirmed case was infectious in the community in Victoria on July 8 and 9.
The positive case entered Victoria on the morning of July 8 in a party of three for work.
They left Victoria and entered South Australia on the morning of July 9.
Households visited by the case for work are isolating and have been tested.
On Monday afternoon, the department was advised that another person in the travelling party had returned a positive result.
Victoria recorded three new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, including one acquired interstate and two acquired locally as a result of that interstate incursion.
There were two COVID-19 cases in hospital and 20 active cases in the state – 5 locally acquired and 15 acquired overseas.
The total number of confirmed cases in Victoria since the beginning of the pandemic is 20,725.
Further public exposure sites will be published once confirmed and validated.
For the most up to date list of exposure sites, visit: www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites
