Eight new COVID-19 cases in Melbourne as MCG listed as exposure site

Eight new COVID-19 cases in Melbourne as MCG listed as exposure site

Victoria has revealed eight new local COVID-19 cases today (Wednesday) with major Melbourne shopping centre and an AFL game potential points of exposure.

Victorian authorities confirmed seven cases were linked to a returned family and a crew of removalists, who both came into the state from NSW.

One locally acquired case was initially announced on Wednesday before a press conference at 11.30am where the additional cases were also revealed.

Victorian Covid-19 testing head Jeroen Weimar confirmed four of the new cases were from the Ariele apartments complex in two separate apartments on the same floor the removalists were working on.

A resident, a man in his 60s, and his elderly parents all tested positive to the virus as a result.

A further three people in a second apartment also tested positive.

The case announced earlier on Wednesday is a fourth family member of the City of Hume family, who all tested positive after travelling from NSW to Victoria on a red travel permit.

“I appreciate this is concerning news,” Mr Weimar said.

“This is clearly a very rapidly moving situation, and we’re very keen to make sure we get a very firm grip of this as soon as we possibly can.”

Highpoint shopping centre has emerged as an exposure site, with anyone who attended between on Friday between 10am and 2pm urged to get tested.

More than 2000 people who attended an MCG match between Carlton and Geelong on July 10 are also on alert after the game was attended by an infected person.

Any staff or patrons who were on Level 2 of the MCC Members' Reserve at the time are now Tier Two contacts and must immediately get tested and isolate until receiving a negative result.

The whole of the MCG is now listed as a Tier Three exposure site, with anyone who was at the Geelong-Carlton game between 4pm and 8pm on July 10 urged to be alert for symptoms and get tested immediately if any develop.