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As it happened: Victoria heads in lockdown, positive case at Wallabies match, NSW records 65 new cases

Broede Carmody, Michaela Whitbourn and Mathew Dunckley
Updated ,first published

The day in review

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Thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you are just joining us now, we’ve had some major developments in the past few hours. Here’s what you need to know now (thanks to Michaela Whitbourn for putting much of this summary together before ending her stint):

  • Victoria will enter a snap five-day lockdown from 11.59 tonight until 11.59 next Tuesday in a bid to control the spread of COVID-19 across the state, which is linked to the outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus sweeping across Greater Sydney. The state has recorded 18 new cases of COVID-19 in the community over Wednesday and Thursday, including four new cases today.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a snap five-day lockdown for the entire state.Getty
  • Of Victoria’s 18 COVID-19 cases, 13 are linked to an outbreak at the Ariele apartments complex in Maribyrnong that was visited by removalists from Sydney who were infectious with the virus. The other five are linked to a family of four from the City of Hume who returned recently from NSW. One member of that family visited a Coles supermarket and infected a friend.
  • The four new cases in Victoria today include three cases linked to the Geelong v Carlton game at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday, July 10, which was attended by a confirmed coronavirus case from the Ariele apartments (a man in his 60s). These cases are of concern to Victorian health authorities because the new cases did not know the man in his 60s and did not sit with him at the MCG.
The MCG has been listed as a COVID exposure site for the Carlton-Geelong match last Saturday.Getty Images

More venues across Sydney added to NSW Health’s COVID list

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NSW Health is advising of additional dates and times to previously announced venues of concern. Anyone who has attended the following premises is a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days since their last day at the site, regardless of the result, and call 1800 943 553 unless they have already been contacted by NSW Health:

  • Greenacre - D&M Excavations - 19 Bellfrog Street Thursday 1 July All day to Wednesday 14 July All day
  • Greenacre -Hanson Concrete Australia - 18-20 Bellfrog Street Thursday 1 July All day to Wednesday 14 July All day
  • Emu Plains - Lennox Village - Corner of Great Western Highway and Lawson Street Saturday 10 July 4pm – 4.45pm

Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result, and call 1800 943 553 unless they have already been contacted by NSW Health:

  • Seven Hills - Alpha Medical Centre - Shop 69/224 Prospect Highway Monday 12 July 2.15pm – 4.30pm Tuesday 13 July 8am – 5pm Wednesday 14 July 8am – 5pm
  • Green Valley - Penna’s Green Valley Pharmacy - 174 Green Valley Road Saturday 10 July 1.05pm – 1.15pm Sunday 11 July 3.15pm – 3.25pm

Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received. Please continue to monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate and get tested if they develop:

Disaster payments available to help Victorians during lockdown

By Annika Smethurst

The Federal Government and Victoria have reached agreement on economic support measures to assist people and businesses affected by the state’s snap five-day lockdown.

Commonwealth funding will be available to workers in a number of areas declared as being hotspots by the Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly.

The areas declared as hotspots late Thursday by Professor Kelly are Greater Melbourne, Moorabool Shire, City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliff and Surf Coast Shire.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says disaster payments of $375 would be available to anyone in those areas who lose between eight and less than 20 hours of work.

A payment of $600 would be available to workers who lose more than 20 hours during the period of the lockdown.

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Official confirmation on AAMI Park exposure

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We have just recently had official confirmation from Melbourne & Olympic Parks about our earlier report that a person with coronavirus attended the Wallabies test match against France at AAMI Park on Tuesday night.

The organisation said in a statement it was working with the Department of Health to support contract tracing and more information would be issued “in due course”.

“AAMI Park is closed and intensive cleaning of the venue is underway,” the statement said.

Prime Minister backs states, warns on virus danger

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison has voiced support for NSW and Victoria as they attempt to bring outbreaks under control and said he had some sympathy for their decision to move to home schooling in response to the spread of the delta strain of the coronavirus.

Mr Morrison had last year argued strongly for children to remain at school but he said this year the position was not as “clear cut”.

I’m not kidding if this thing gets into the community like we’ve seen overseas, then people will die
Prime Minister Scott Morrison

“Then, it didn’t affect younger people, it didn’t affect children, and certainly not in terms of serious illness and barely you could even detect its infection,” he told Sky News.

“Now, sadly, under the Delta variant that is not the same situation, and it does have an impact on younger people in that way and that’s terribly unfortunate and that just makes managing COVID all that more complicated now. “

Advice for MCG attendees updated as bar listed as tier-1 exposure site

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The Victorian Health Department has updated its advice for anyone who attended the Cartlon v Geelong clash at the MCG on Saturday, adding a new tier-1 exposure site related to the match and upgrading other sections of the stadium to a tier-2 exposure level.

The Percy Beames Bar on level 2 of the members’ reserve has been listed as a tier-1 site and anyone who was at the bar between 4pm and 4.30pm or 5.20pm and 5.50pm on July 10 needs to call the Department of Health, test immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.

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Meanwhile, all sections of the members’ reserve between 4pm and 8pm – not just level two – have now been classed as a tier-2 exposure site, meaning anyone who was there at the specified times needs to isolate until they test negative for COVID-19.

The Health Department also reminded those who attended the match that the route 70 tram that departed Flinders St/Swanston St at 3.46pm and arrived at the MCG at 3.53pm on July 10 and the Young & Jackson pub (opposite Flinders Street Station) between 2.40pm and 4.10pm on Saturday were both tier-1 exposure sites.

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Doing it tough

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We asked readers to tell us how they feel about the Victorian lockdown and, looking through them, it’s clear this latest one is a blow for many of you.

Here’s a selection of some:


Tears, tears and more tears for my kids. The 6 year old is so upset at missing more school, and does not understand why the 4 year old still gets to attend kinder. For me, I work from home, and doing so while home schooling is near on impossible and has massive detrimental effects on my own mental health and ability to deliver what I need to deliver in a work sense - Bianca


NRL players fuming at Queensland families backflip

By Michael Chammas

NRL players were on Thursday night fuming after the Queensland government backflipped on a promise to bring their families to Queensland on Saturday.

The NRL has obtained the letter sent by NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo to the players on Thursday night, informing them that plans to bring their families into the state had been postponed.

NRL players are fuming at QueenslandGetty

The Herald and The Age understand the Queensland government has been criticised by the public for providing the players’ families preferential treatment.

The government has told the NRL it will not consider the group application and has asked for hundreds of individual applications to be submitted.

How case numbers exploded in south-west Sydney

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South-west Sydney has rapidly become the epicentre of the city’s COVID-19 outbreak, after cases were initially centred in the eastern suburbs.

This great data shows just how quickly cases exploded in the south-west, particularly in the Fairfield local government area.

On June 30, Fairfield had recorded just three cases, rising to 25 on July 7.

But just a week later on July 14, the outbreak had really taken hold in Fairfield, with total cases now sitting at 319.

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Visit our updated vaccine tracker

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