A potential COVID-19 transmission between guests in hotel quarantine has put Victorian health authorities on high alert.
An investigation is now looking at how two separate groups of guests on the same floor tested positive for the highly-infectious B117 variant first detected in the United Kingdom.
“That means it’s as if they have been in the same room together,” Victoria’s Police Minister Lisa Neville told reporters on Wednesday.
“This is a hotel transmission, it is not a community transmission. The public health team … have indicated there is an exceptionally low risk of any community transmission.”
Ms Neville said CTTV footage had been reviewed and there had been no indication of any breach of protocols.
All positive cases have been moved to the Alfred Health Hotel and remain in isolation.
No staff members have tested positive to date but they have been sent home and tested again.
News of the quarantine scare broke on Thursday afternoon as Victoria reached 28 days without any new local cases – widely regarded as the milestone for community elimination of the virus.
There are 21 active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria, all in hotel quarantine.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction’s restrictions on gathering limits. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus.
Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT, Tasmania.
