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As it happened: Victoria records 108 cases, two more postcodes and nine public housing towers go into lockdown

Roy Ward, Marissa Calligeros and Mathew Dunckley
Updated ,first published

Summary

Pinned post from 9.37pm on Jul 4, 2020
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The Age to gather messages of support

By

We have been getting a lot of questions about how people can let those now in lockdown in the public housing towers that others are thinking of them and support them.

We thought we would try and gather up messages from our readers which we will then publish together to demonstrate that support.

To offer yours please use the form below:

We are also in touch with agencies who offer on the ground assistance and will bring readers information on how they can also contribute in a practical fashion.

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Good night

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That concludes our live coverage for today. For Sunday's coverage, click here.

Victoria is now really in a fight to keep the virus at bay with more suburbs going back into lockdown and nine public housing towers going into 'hard lockdown' for five days.

The good news is how stable the other states appear to be with NSW recording just six new cases and no new cases appearing anywhere else.

Here is a look back at some of the day's major developments:

More suburbs in lockdown as Victoria records 108 new coronavirus cases

Housing Minister says virus could 'infect thousands' if unchecked in towers

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Housing Minister Richard Wynne has released a statement tonight where he describes how difficult the decision was to lockdown the public housing towers.

Here's a taste of it:

Knowing these buildings and having walked those corridors, I understand acutely the closeness that comes with living in them.

These towers rely on common entrances, common walkways and common lifts. Earlier in my life, I worked on the Flemington Estate for seven years.

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Young South Sudanese leaders share pain of unfounded COVID blame

By Zachary Hope

Blame for Melbourne’s second-wave coronavirus outbreak came as no surprise to South Sudanese graduate student Akuch Anyieth: "because, you know, we’re used to it now".

Yet for all the community’s training in resilience and patient clarifications, the commentary of the last week and a half, most notably from Sky News host Peta Credlin, has felt no less demeaning.

Akuch Anyieth Luis Ascui

"Even in a time when we all need each other, at a time when we should all stand in solidarity, communities are being condemned for something with no evidence to support it," says Ms Anyieth, 29, an emerging leader in her community.

Ms Credlin this week apologised for linking the South Sudanese community, which is overwhelmingly Christian, to a reported mass gathering and spreading event on the Islamic holy day of Eid in late May.

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Two Preston Market vendors test positive

By Ashleigh McMillan

Two vendors at the Preston Market have now been diagnosed with COVID-19, but the health department says it doesn't believe the public has been exposed.

The Department of Health and Human Services said it did not think "that any customers have been exposed" though added the cases were a timely reminder to Victorians that they should maintain physical distance in shopping and retail environments.

A number of virus clusters have also grown in number, according to the department.

Two new cases have been connected to the Roxburgh Park family outbreak, which now counts 28 COVID-19 positive cases.

Two more cases have also been found connected to the Stamford Plaza outbreak, while four cases have been retrospectively linked to the cluster, which now totals 40 cases.

More cases linked to schools

By Ashleigh McMillan

Here's another snippet from the case details released earlier today.

There have been a number of new COVID-19 cases that are connected to schools.
Three new cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa College, bringing the total of positive cases connected to the outbreak to 33.

All staff and students from the school have been quarantined and will now be tested for the disease.

A teacher at Debney Meadows Primary School also tested positive to the virus, according to the Department of Health and Humans Services.

"The acquisition source is being investigated. The school is closed, and all close contacts will be tested," a press release from the department late Saturday afternoon.

There was also one new case connected to Ascot Vale Primary School, with a known close contact of an existing case testing possible for COVID-19, taking the total cases in the school cluster to two.

There have been 389 confirmed cases of the virus in Victoria that have been acquired through unknown transmission, with 509 current active cases in the state.

Messages from readers

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Wow, the messages are already pouring in. Here's a taste of a couple of them:


We may not know you personally but you are a Victorian and we are with you. Coronavirus is hard for everyone and it may be extremely difficult for you. Please know your fellow Victorians appreciate and are grateful for your efforts in this unexpected and immediate lockdown. Do not be afraid for you are not alone. But right now it is you and your loved ones on the front line...... we are supporting you as next time it might be us and roles are reversed. Anonymous


No words can express the true heartache you must be feeling. We acknowledge you, we thank you and we support you. Reach out. We got you as you have us. Jacinta

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Pinned post from 9.37pm on Jul 4, 2020

The Age to gather messages of support

By

We have been getting a lot of questions about how people can let those now in lockdown in the public housing towers that others are thinking of them and support them.

We thought we would try and gather up messages from our readers which we will then publish together to demonstrate that support.

To offer yours please use the form below:

We are also in touch with agencies who offer on the ground assistance and will bring readers information on how they can also contribute in a practical fashion.

Quarantine hotel worker did shift while potentially infectious

By Ashleigh McMillan

A healthcare worker was potentially infectious while on shift at the Park Royal Hotel where returned Australians are quarantining, the health department has now confirmed.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said on Sunday that the identification of the worker's close contacts is now under way.

"The source of acquisition is currently unknown and all avenues of transmission will be investigated," according to a press release from the DHHS.

"The contact tracing process is underway, with all appropriate public health actions being implemented, including cleaning, quarantine and testing."

The hotel declined to comment on Saturday night, referring questions to the department.

Spanish region goes back into lockdown

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We're not the only part of the world looking at tightening rules around movement.

Here's a story from Reuters on what's happening in northern Spain:

Spain's north-eastern region of Catalonia enforced a new lockdown on more than 200,000 people on Saturday, after several new outbreaks of the coronavirus were detected.

Residents in Segria, which includes the city of Lleida, will not be able to leave the area from 12 noon on Saturday, but will not be confined to their homes as was the case in Spain's original strict lockdown in March.

"We have decided to confine Segria due to data that confirm too significant a growth in the number of COVID-19 infections," Catalan regional president Quim Torra told a news briefing.

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Something a bit lighter

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I know it's a tough day for many people and there's a lot of worrying news.

Here is something that might make you smile.

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