The Australian Government Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, has today declared Greater Melbourne, Moorabool Shire, City of Greater Geelong, Borough of Queenscliff and Surf Coast Shire a COVID-19 Hotspot for the purposes of Commonwealth support, for an initial period of 5 days from 11:59pm 15 July 2021 until 11:59pm 20 July 2021.
Victoria has recorded the occurrence of at least 18 cases in metropolitan Melbourne.
Whole genome sequencing has confirmed cases to have been infected with the Delta variant of concern.
Professor Kelly reminds members of the public of the increased risk of the highly transmissible Delta Variant and requests that they continue to follow the directions of Victoria Health.
There have been multiple exposure sites in Greater Melbourne and surrounding Local Government Areas where cases have been present during their infectious period. These are listed on the Victorian Government's website.
Due to the increased risk posed by the Delta variant, and cases having been infectious in the community providing opportunities for onward transmission, the Commonwealth has offered the below support and assistance.
Declaring a hotspot for Commonwealth support triggers, if required:
- Provision of PPE from the National Medical Stockpile
- Actions for aged care facilities including PPE, single site workforce supplement and integration of an aged care response centre into the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre
- Assistance with contact tracing
- Asymptomatic testing via General Practice Respiratory Clinics
- Reprioritisation of vaccine supplies
- Access to COVID Disaster Payment, if eligibility criteria is met, including the state imposed lockdown runs for greater than 7 days
- Two new Medicare Benefits Schedule items for longer telehealth consultations have been created that take effect 16 July 2021.
