Things are looking good for Victoria on day 4 of lockdown, with the state placed in a positive position to make changes to the lockdown – set to end tomorrow night.
In a press conference this morning Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said that Victoria is “well-placed to be able to make changes tomorrow night”.
On the fourth day of VIC’s lockdown, the state’s health department confirmed the two new locally acquired cases reported on Tuesday morning were close household contacts of people already infected, relating to the Holiday Inn outbreak.
This brings the airport quarantine cluster’s total to 19 cases.
The two new cases, who returned negative tests a couple of days ago, have been self-isolating at home, meaning there are no further exposure sites, aside from the 40 already listed online.
Dan Andrews said that this puts the state in a positive position for changes to the lockdown restrictions, but he did not confirm what the changes would be .
He said “these next 24 hours are crucial.”
In his press conference, Dan Andrews thanked the contract tracers, lab technicians and everyone working hard to ensure the state contains the virus.
A purpose built quarantine centre
The premier also spoke about the state’s intention of building a purpose built quarantine centre, to take the pressure off inner city hotels and to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
The quarantine centre will be based on the Howard Springs model.
“People would be in the same location but not sharing the same spaces, so they’re not under the same roofline.”
“It would be a cabin-style, village-style environment, where there would be fresh air, where there would be not zero-risk but lower risk,” he said.
Avalon airport and Melbourne airport are both “stand out candidates”.
We’ll update the situation when we know more.