Today marks 28 days since the last case of COVID-19 was notified in Victoria.
All Victorians should feel proud for getting us to this point, but now is not the time to be complacent.
As we move towards a COVIDSafe Summer Victorians are encouraged to wear a mask in indoor public spaces, practice social distancing and good hygiene, follow the rules around social gatherings, and above all – if you have symptoms, get tested.
A total of 3,553,932 test results have been received in Victoria which is an increase of 9828 since yesterday.
Recent wastewater testing demonstrates there may still be virus in the community and a real risk remains with arriving interstate travellers or the emergence of new local cases. Our fight against COVID-19 is not over. There are still significant outbreaks happening around the world and we do not yet have an effective vaccine.
Coronavirus fragments have been detected in a wastewater sample collected from the Northern Water Reclamation Plant in Corio and residents and visitors to Geelong’s northern suburbs and Lara from Saturday 21 to Tuesday 23 November are urged to get tested if they have symptoms, no matter how mild.
In recent months we have seen fragments detected in wastewater at several locations, including recent detections at Benalla, Portland and Altona.
Victoria’s wastewater surveillance program has grown substantially over the past few months with the number of sampling sites now at 54 with another six sites soon becoming operational, taking us to 60 sites.
Recently added sites include Halls Gap, Nhill, Pakenham, Riddells Creek, Romsey, Stawell, Brushy Creek, Craigieburn, and Woodend. New sites will soon be established at Aurora, Healesville, Lilydale, Wallan, Whittlesea and Upper Yarra.
Now that Victorian case numbers have reduced to zero, we are in a unique position to use our robust wastewater surveillance program to identify and act on any unexpected detections in our sewerage system and actively encourage testing of people in affected areas so we can quickly identify any new cases.
The Victorian Government is continuing to monitor the situation in South Australia and will continue to be guided by the health advice.
A permit is required to enter Victoria from South Australia unless an exemption applies. Permits are available from the Service Victoria website.
In response to the South Australian outbreak, arriving flights into Victoria are being met by DHHS authorised officers and identified passengers are being tested. All test results have so far been negative.
Information regarding COVID-19 is available at the Department of Health and Human Services website or by calling 1800 675 398. Testing site details, including opening hours, are available at the Where to get tested page. More information about travelling to and from South Australia is available on the DHHS website.
Media enquiries
Department of Health & Human Services Media Unit (03) 9096 8860 or press@dhhs.vic.gov.au