One of nine public housing towers placed under “hard lockdown” on Saturday will remain in police-enforced quarantine after a large number of coronavirus cases were found within the units.
Key points:
- The remaining eight towers will enter the same restrictions as the rest of Melbourne from midnight
- Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he still expected more cases to be found in the buildings
- People who have contracted the virus and their close contacts will be asked to move to hotel quarantine
The nine towers, home to about 3,000 residents in 1,345 units, were placed in sudden lockdown on Saturday afternoon after tenants contracted the virus.
Premier Daniel Andrews said 2,515 tests had been conducted across the towers since Saturday and 159 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19.
Eight of the towers will move to the same stage three restrictions as the rest of Melbourne from midnight tonight.
But at least 53 infections were detected at 33 Alfred St in North Melbourne, so its residents will all be considered close contacts and stay in quarantine for another nine days to complete a 14-day quarantine period.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there were two or three close contacts for each infected case.
“We need to recognise there might be 20 to 25 per cent of individuals in that particular tower who end up developing coronavirus, and potentially more,” Professor Sutton said.
Resid