VICTORIA’S public health messaging is shifting.
One big change that came into play this week is that the vast majority of tier 2 exposure sites are no longer being listed on the Department of Health and Human Services website.
The Chief Health Officer said on Monday that due to the volume of exposure sites statewide, and Victoria’s promising vaccination rates, only the highest-risk sites were being shown online.
So if you receive a message from the Health Department, but the exposure site isn’t listed online, follow the advice of the message.
This change is a huge adjustment that’s come at a very difficult time and caught many of us off guard.
As mystery cases emerged in our community, we were all desperate for information.
Listed exposure sites had been abundant in the past, but now details are scarce.
And, as we’ve seen, cases continued to grow despite no exposure sites being published online.
What this revised approach signals is a period when our method of dealing with COVID-19 outbreaks is changing.
The approach is now less focused on exposure sites and more focused on community vigilance.
It’s a sign of things to come.
We’re shifting to a state of living with the virus, but the core public health message remains the same.
To stay safe, if you can and haven’t already, get vaccinated.
Cases are in the community and they may be here to stay.
They’re among some of our most vulnerable community members and case numbers are growing.
COVID-safe measures, checking in with QR codes, using proper hand hygiene and wearing masks have never been more important.
Vaccination is the way out of this nightmare.
It’s the key to keeping people out of hospital. It’s a way of avoiding preventable deaths.
And it’s a lifeline to our local business community.
It’s easy to protect yourself, the people you love and the things you value most.
Most importantly, it can make living with COVID-19 in the community a manageable reality, instead of a dangerous prospect.
