Victoria lockdown: Break and tea rooms most dangerous place for COVID-19 transmission

“Workplace tea rooms for many of us at work are the most dangerous of anything you do in this environment and you need to minimize your time in those kinds of settings,” he said. during Monday’s COVID-19 press conference.

“A number of instances of the V / Line, including in some construction teahouses, is where we probably let our guard down the most, it’s physically where we drop our masks to eat and drink. and where we see people. “

He added that a combination of different employees working staggered schedules and coming from different workplaces has contributed to the escalation of infections.

The warning comes after a fifth V-Line worker tested positive for the virus, with the source of transmission believed to be from the tea room shared by dozens of employees.

Health officials continued to ask residents to get tested as soon as they show symptoms of COVID-19 or visit a known exposure site.

The Victorian government made two major announcements for the construction sector with priority access to 20,000 Pfizer vaccines available this week and a new crackdown on sites that flout the rules.

The Department of Health said Victoria had recorded 473 locally acquired cases on Monday – the highest daily number since the second wave in 2020.

Of the infections recorded within 24 hours to midnight, 202 have been linked to known outbreaks, while the remaining 271 “mystery” cases are under investigation.

Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs continue to record the highest number of community transmissions, recording 91% of Monday’s cases.

There have been 338 cases in the key suburbs of Craigieburn, Roxburgh Park, Meadow Heights, Broadmeadows and Glenroy.

In the west, there have been 97 infections in areas such as Casey, Cardinia, Dandenong and Clayton and in the east, nine cases in suburbs including Doncaster East and Ferntree Gully.

A school in the Fitzroy community has been closed after 31 infections among students and staff in recent days, with 189 primary close contacts.

Prime Minister Daniel Andrews – who was absent from Monday’s press conference – responded to calls from politicians, residents and business owners for a detailed roadmap, announcing on Sunday that it would be revealed “in about one hour. week “.

He added that the “roadmap in this 80% race” would include warnings based on the number of active cases and people hospitalized.

“It will give people a sense of the schools, the hospitality, where they can go, who they can visit, all of those things,” he said at Sunday’s press conference.

The government will receive modeling from the Burnet Institute on the effect of easing restrictions as the state moves closer to its 70% and 80% immunization targets.