‘Postpone’: Urgent travel advice for Victoria
NSW health authorities are urging people to delay travelling to Victoria as the state grapples with a Covid cluster across Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
NSW Health issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon urging people to “postpone non-urgent travel to Greater Melbourne and Bendigo”.
“People with Covid-19 have visited a number of venues in Greater Melbourne and in and near Bendigo while infectious. This includes the Melbourne Cricket Ground and a number of hospitality venues,” the statement read.
“NSW Health asks that anyone who has been in Whittlesea Local Government Area remain particularly vigilant for signs and symptoms of Covid-19, in light of the community transmission in that area.
“They should limit their exposures to high-risk settings, such as pubs, clubs, gyms, large family gatherings and any crowded indoor settings wherever possible for 14 days since they were last in the Whittlesea Local Government Area.”
NSW Health is urging people to postpone non-urgent travel to Greater Melbourne and Bendigo.Source:News Limited
Four cases first cropped up in Melbourne’s outer north on Monday, with health authorities dubbing the outbreak as the city of Whittlesea cluster.
That cluster has now grown to 15 after Victoria recorded six new local infections on Wednesday.
There are 51 exposure sites listed on the Department of Health’s website as of Wednesday afternoon.
Most of the sites are dotted around Melbourne, but the regional city of Bendigo is also on high alert after a case visited there on May 22.
Two people who were considered close contacts of positive virus cases from Victoria and had crossed the border into NSW returned negative results in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon.
But the close call triggered a warning from NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant, who said more people could be considered close contacts.
Victorian authorities warned on Wednesday that the next 24 hours would be critical. Picture: William West / AFPSource:AFP
Victorian authorities warned on Wednesday that the next 24 hours would be “critical” in whether harsher measures – such as a snap lockdown – would be imposed.
There are no border closures as yet, but anyone in NSW who has been in Greater Melbourne or in the Bendigo area since Wednesday, May 12, should not visit residential aged care facilities or healthcare facilities unless seeking medical attention.
They should also come forward for testing “immediately” with even the mildest of cold-like symptoms and then isolate until a negative result is received.
Anyone arriving in NSW by air, rail or road who has been in the Greater Melbourne or Bendigo areas in the past 14 days must complete a travel declaration that confirmed they had not attended an exposure venue.
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