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This live blog has now ended. Please check back in the morning for the latest coronavirus updates for Sunraysia. In the meantime, you can find an up-to-date list of exposure sites in Victoria here. A list of exposure sites in NSW can be found here or a map is available here.
Monday's COVID wrap: the basics
There were 36 new COVID-19 cases reported in Mildura on Monday, taking the LGA's total to 90 active cases. Across Victoria on Monday there were 1612 new cases and eight deaths.
Four new cases in Dareton were confirmed on Monday morning. There are now 16 active cases in Dareton.
NSW recorded 496 new locally acquired cases and eight deaths on Monday.
There are several exposure sites in Mildura, Red Cliffs, Dareton and Buronga. You can find an up-to-date list of exposure sites in Victoria here. Victoria is phasing out publication of tier 2 exposure sites, but tier 1 sites will still be published. People who have visited exposure sites will be contacted by the Department of Health, so remembering to sign in using QR codes is increasingly important.
A list of exposure sites in NSW can be found here or a map is available here.
Community forum recap
7.30pm: 2500 people tuned in for Monday night's community forum. If you missed it, or simply need a refresher, you can watch it below, but here are some of the highlights:
Updated case details
According to Loddon Mallee Public Health Unit director Bruce Bolam, case numbers in Sunraysia are "literally changing hour by hour":
"As of 1.30pm this afternoon, there were a total of 95 confirmed active cases within the local government area. That is literally changing hour by hour, so don’t be surprised if the numbers you see reported in media tomorrow are somewhat different," Mr Bolam said.
"Currently we have a profile of 53 female and 41 male cases.
"One bit of good news is that to date we have only seen three cases in the over-60s."
Mr Bolam added that statistics about how many of Mildura's COVID-19 cases were in the Aboriginal community might be skewed if it didn't come up in their case interviews.
"Many of the cases we have seen to date have very sadly been in Aboriginal community members. That isn’t necessarily reflected in our data," he said.
"During case interviews … Aboriginal identity is not always recorded.
"What we’ve got in the confirmed statistics is only four Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander cases, but we know in reality that is a significantly higher level."
Why aren't there more exposure sites?
According to COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar and Mr Bolam, the public health team "are being far more forensic and targeted" now and carefully assess each site a COVID-positive person has been to when deciding whether or not to make it an exposure site. Factors can include whether people are checking in, wearing masks and socially distancing.
"Just because the sites aren’t being published doesn’t mean the teams aren’t looking at them. We certainly are, in every single case we're doing a case interview we're assessing … and believe you me, if there's stuff in there we think should be communicated, we'll ... make sure it is," Mr Bolam said.
"Please, Lord, keep doing the QR codes. It's absolutely essential.
"Literally the first thing the teams do as soon as we identify a case … is get a hold of that QR code data. Where there's gaps in it, it creates a real problem and a real risk of transmission."
Mr Weimar raised Shepparton's recent lockdown as an example, noting a large amount of exposure sites meant the city ground to a halt.
"We ended up with a third of the community in isolation … it became a really significant issue about the viability of the town," he said.
"Across the state we don't really list tier 2 ones any more."
Why did it take so long for exposure sites to be listed?
Jeroen Weimar explains: "We identify exposure sites based on the contact tracing interviews we do with positive cases.
"It's quite common to list exposure sites a week or longer after exposure if we've only just identified the case ... a lot of it depends on when the positive case came forward for testing. The longer they delay, the longer everything else gets delayed."
Why was Mildura's lockdown announced so late on Friday?
Jeroen Weimar: "The decision to go into lockdown late on Friday was a tough and difficult call for the public health team and the Chief Health Officer to make on Friday, but with the emerging information that was coming in during the day on Friday I think the team rightly felt they had no choice."
He added that case numbers emerging later in the day and "the dynamics around the border" were among the things they had to take into account.
Will Mildura's lockdown end on time?
As he told media earlier this afternoon, Mr Weimar was optimistic Mildura's lockdown could end on Friday night as planned.
He pointed to recent circuit-breakers in Ballarat, Shepparton, La Trobe and the Surf Coast as examples, saying "our recent form work is pretty good at seven-day lockdowns in regional setting being only seven days".
He pointed to unconnected cases, large numbers of case numbers and people not isolating properly as "red flags" that could extend the lockdown, but at this stage, while offering "no guarantees" and warning of "hard days ahead", Mr Weimar said "the community is doing everything they possibly can", placing Mildura well to emerge at the end of the week.
Mr Weimar said Mildura residents could expect an announcement on Friday - and that they would try to make the announcement earlier in the day this time.
"We’ll obviously try to make a decision as early as we can," he said.
"We appreciate it’s frustrating when we call it late. We’ll do our best to call it on Friday morning to give people as much notice as we can."
Will restrictions on unvaccinated people end any time soon?
Short answer - no. As Mr Weimar said:
"There is absolutely no intention to lift that at any point in the coming weeks or coming months … I don’t think anyone is going to walk away from the mandate requirement.
"We want essential workers to keep going but we don’t want them to spread COVID around."
MDAS chief executive Jacki Turfrey also spoke about vaccine hesitancy in the Indigenous community, noting vaccination rates in the Aboriginal community are lagging well behind the wider population.
"There’s a fair bit of fear in my community about getting tested and getting vaccinated," she said.
"What we made the decision to do when we noticed there was a reluctance to come forward and get vaccinated on the part of our community members – and I need to be honest about that, there’s real hesitancy about getting the vaccines, there’s real distrust of the system … the best we could do in that circumstance was do our best to vaccinate the rest of the community."
How many people are in hospital in Mildura and what is their vaccination status?
MBPH chief executive Terry Welch didn't put a number on how many people were in hospital locally, but said there were "over 70 people in our hospital in the home program as we speak".
But he did say MBPH has been kept "very busy with presentations - and their vaccination rates are low."
How do we support children under 12 who can't get vaccinated yet?
Mr Bolam said people should remember the basics - washing hands, wearing masks, social distancing and obeying restrictions.
What do we think the peak of this outbreak will look like?
Mr Weimar said modelling predicts Victoria will hit the peak of the outbreak in the next couple of weeks.
But while numbers will go down for a while, he suggested numbers could spike again early next month.
"In early November when we open up … then case numbers increase again as people move around again and the virus essentially starts to go into the remainder of the community that hasn't been vaccinated," he said.
- Lucy Bain
Live community COVID forum
6pm: Public Health figures and local leaders were live on Mildura Rural City Council's Facebook page with a community forum about Sunraysia's COVID outbreak. Watch a recording of the forum here:
Mildura 'on track' to end lockdown on time
5.30pm: Before Monday evening's community forum, COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar spoke to media about Sunraysia's COVID-19 situation.
Mr Weimar told reporters there is no reason at this stage to believe Mildura’s current lockdown will extend beyond the scheduled week.
Visiting the city as it struggles with its worst outbreak of the pandemic, Mr Weimar said he was “bowled over by the amazing response I’ve seen on the ground today” and that if testing and vaccination rates remain high, lockdown restrictions should ease on time.
“I think we’ve got a pretty good track record as a community of working together quickly, identifying these cases… if we follow that script over the coming days, and the start has been very promising, then I’m confident we can look forward to a good result at the weekend,” he said.
He cautioned, however, that case numbers were likely to grow over the next few days.
- Bernard Humphreys
Robinvale 'on standby' over COVID rumours
4pm: ROBINVALE is on high alert as it awaits confirmation of a potential positive COVID-19 case.
Some businesses in the town voluntarily closed their doors on Monday as a precaution, with fears a person with COVID-19 may have been out in the community at the weekend.
Robinvale Ward councillor Jade Benham said the the new case had not yet been confirmed by the Department of Health and Human Services.
"I don't like using the word rumour, so really the town is on standby," Cr Benham said.
"These businesses are taking precautionary measures in closing their doors as there is no directive as yet."
There are testing sites at Robinvale District Health Services and Murray Valley Aboriginal Cooperative.
MORE: Safety first: Robinvale chooses partial shutdown
Updated: Sunraysia couple appear in SA court over alleged border breach
3.15pm: A COLIGNAN couple will remain in custody in Adelaide with police alleging they illegally entered South Australia.
Geoffrey Barnes, 55, and Bernadette Reed, 51, were arrested in the Riverland on Sunday afternoon and have been charged with breaching SA's Emergency Management Act.
According to ABC News, the couple did not apply for bail when they appeared via videolink from the City Watch House at Port Adelaide Magistrates' Court on Monday afternoon.
Police allege the pair drove into South Australia from Victoria and avoided border checkpoints and did not have approvals to enter the state.
MORE: Sunraysia couple remanded in custody over alleged SA border breach
- Sarah Harman
Pfizer and Moderna opened up to over-60s
3pm: All Victorians aged 12 and over can now access the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines at state-run vaccination centres, including Mildura's Kiarivu Barracks.
For people aged over 60, the change means they now have the option to get either mRNA jab or the AstraZeneca vaccine.
As of Sunday, 85.5 per cent of Victorians had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 58.6 per cent were fully vaccinated.
Victorians can book a state-run centre by visiting www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au or calling 1800 675 398, or through their local GP or pharmacist by visiting covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au/eligibility.
“With all vaccines open to all Victorians aged 12 and over, and plenty of appointments available, there’s no reason not to book your jab today,” Health Minister Martin Foley said.
36 new cases in Mildura on third day of lockdown
11.35am: Mildura's active case count now stands at 90, after 36 more people tested positive to COVID-19.
The new cases come from about 1600 tests taken in Mildura yesterday.
According to Victoria’s Deputy Secretary of COVID Response Naomi Bromley, eight per cent of Mildura residents had been tested over a two-day period this weekend.
Ms Bromley praised the commitment of those getting and administering tests in Mildura: "A fantastic effort and our thanks to that local community and all the local providers there that have been doing a huge amount of work to boost those testing rates," she said.
Statewide, Victoria recorded 1612 new COVID-19 cases, 122 of which were in regional Victoria, and eight deaths.
Four new cases in Dareton
11am: Far West Local Health District (FWLHD) reported four new COVID-19 cases in Dareton to 8pm last night.
All four new cases are household contacts. The new cases take Dareton's total to 16 active cases. There are also 24 active cases in Broken Hill, two in Wilcannia, and one in Menindee. All active cases are in isolation.
Dareton residents are urged to limit their movements in the community, and according to a FWLHD spokesperson, "widespread COVID-19 testing is critical".
Anyone with even mild cold-like symptoms is asked to come forward immediately for testing.
Victorian press conference to start at 11.15am
10.50am: The Victorian Government COVID-19 press conference starts at 11.15am. Health Minister Martin Foley will lead the briefing, along with COVID response deputy secretary Naomi Bromley. Meanwhile, COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar is on his way to Mildura.
Weimar to visit Mildura, front community forum
10am: Victoria's COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar will visit Mildura today.
Mr Weimar will assist local health services as they deal with Sunraysia's COVID-19 outbreak.
He will also join an online forum tonight, alongside officials from Mildura Base Public Hospital, Mildura Rural City Council, Mallee District Aboriginal Services and Sunraysia Community Health Services. Mr Weimar and representatives of those organisations will respond to questions from community members about the current COVID-19 situation in Sunraysia and the support available.
The forum starts at 6pm and will be streamed on Mildura Rural City Council's Facebook page.
Exposure sites in Sunraysia
Mildura
- Chloe's Nails and Beauty, 210 Deakin Avenue, Mildura - Saturday October 2, 10am-12.10pm - tier 1
- CrossFit Motion 136, 136 Eleventh Street, Mildura - Monday October 4, 9.30am-11am - tier 1
- Davo's General Store & Take-Away, 285 San Mateo Avenue, Mildura - Monday October 4, 2.30pm-3.20pm - tier 1
- Totally Workwear, 70 Lime Avenue, Mildura - Tuesday October 5, 4.55pm-5.43pm - tier 1
- CrossFit Motion 136, 136 Eleventh Street, Mildura - Wednesday October 6, 5.15pm-6.45pm - tier 1
Red Cliffs
- The Shed Cafe, 59 Jacaranda Street, Red Cliffs - Sunday October 3, 10am-10.45am - tier 1
Tier 1 - Get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from exposure.
You can find an up-to-date list of exposure sites in Victoria here. Victoria is phasing out publication of tier 2 exposure sites, but tier 1 sites will still be published. People who have visited exposure sites will be contacted by the Department of Health, so remembering to sign in using QR codes is increasingly important.
Wentworth Shire
- Shell Buronga, 141 Sturt Highway, Buronga - Sunday October 3, 11.10am-11.15am
- Dareton Mini-Mart, 19 Tapio Street, Dareton - Wednesday October 6, 3pm-4pm
- IGA Dareton Plus Liquor, 31-37 Tapio Street, Dareton - Thursday October 7, 1.40pm-1.50pm and Friday October 8, 8.10am-8.20am
People who visited any of these sites at the times listed should get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
A list of exposure sites in NSW can be found here or a map is available here.
COVID-19 testing locations in Sunraysia
Victoria:
- Old Aerodrome Ovals: From 8.30am to 5.30pm daily.
- Barratt & Smith Pathology, 127 Langtree Avenue (enter Shillidays Lane): 8am to 4pm Monday to Friday and from 8am to noon on Saturday.
Testing is for people who are symptomatic, have been contacted by the Victorian Government to be tested, or have been to an exposure site once they are released.
NSW:
- George Gordon Oval, Dareton: 10am-2.30pm daily
- Alcheringa Oval, Gol Gol: 10am-2.30pm daily
- Wentworth Show Grounds: 9am-3pm Monday-Friday and 10am-2pm Saturday and Sunday