Coronavirus cluster in Victoria as 17 more people are diagnosed after outbreak at meat factory

A coronavirus outbreak at a Victorian abattoir continues to expand after the state recorded more than a dozen new cases overnight.

Treasurer Tim Pallas on Tuesday confirmed 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the state’s tally to 1,423.

Of those new cases, 11 are connected to a cluster of infected workers at the Cedar Meats factory in Brooklyn.

A total of 45 people have contracted coronavirus at the facility, which is in Melbourne’s west.

Both the company and the state’s chief health officer have assured the public meat from the factory is safe to eat.

So far, there have been 96 deaths related to COVID-19 in Australia, and a total of 6,847 confirmed cases

Food from the Cedar Meats factory (pictured) has been declared safe, despite the site being shut down due to a coronavirus outbreak

All 350 staff were tested for COVID-19 by May 1 and the site has since been shutdown.

The first case was recorded in early April and a second worker tested positive on April 23.

One of the workers at the plant had an operation at Melbourne’s Sunshine Hospital after a workplace accident on Thursday.

He tested positive for the virus over the weekend, prompting around 20 hospital workers to self-isolate. 

Meat processing plants globally are proving to be hotbeds for the disease because they have largely remained open despite employees working in close quarters.

Medical staff take down details after performing tests for COVID-19 on people who used a drive-through testing site in a Melbourne car park on May 1 (pictured)

In the US, meat factories have recorded 4,900 cases and at least 20 deaths. 

Cedar Meats General Manager Tony Kairouz said: ‘All workers are self-quarantining and we are working closely with the Victorian health authorities.

‘All meat processed at our facilities is processed in accordance with Australian Standards for food safety and our customers can be confident that the meat processed at our facilities is safe to eat.’

Of the remaining new cases in the state, two people were diagnosed after being tested in a drive-through clinic, while three cases remain under investigation.

In Victoria, 11 people remain in hospital with the virus, including six people in intensive care.

So far, 152,000 people have been tested across Victoria.

A nurse is seen taking a sample from a man during a drive-through COVID-19 test in Victoria at the Highpoint Shopping Centre (pictured) on May 4

Meanwhile, Mr Pallas announced $490 million in additional tax relief for Victorians.

‘About $225 million of that is payroll tax relief and about $200 million of that is foregone premiums under WorkCover,’ he said, noting anyone entitled to WorkCover protection will still be covered.

‘The state will effectively pick up those shortfalls to the extent that, of course, the (WorkCover) fund itself can continue to operate in the way where they can make those payments, that will continue to be the case.’

Victoria has ramped up its number of COVID-19 tests, including at facilities such as this drive-through testing centre at Victoria’s Highpoint Shopping Centre (pictured on May 4)

Meanwhile, a school teacher who tested positive to coronavirus leading to the shutdown of Meadow Glen primary school in Epping says he was rejected for testing three times.

Keith Campbell believes he had the virus back in March but his attempts to get tested were repeatedly denied because he did not meet the box-ticking criteria.

‘I wasn’t severe enough to obviously warrant a test, basically that was it,’ he told Nine’s Today program on Tuesday.

‘I tried three times, twice through the hospital and then the (Department of Health and Human Services).’

Mr Campbell said he doesn’t blame health staff who denied him a test because they were just doing their job with the tools available to them.

A health worker is seen using the COVID-19 testing kits at a facility in NSW, with new rapid tests able to deliver results in just 60 minutes

He believes he caught the deadly virus back in mid-March at a bar he was at along with other members of his family, including his nine-year-old granddaughter, who also tested positive.

By the time he was tested, the coronavirus cells in his nasal passage were dead, but it was enough for authorities to shut down the school where he worked.

He was not in contact with children for two days prior and was only at the school to record video lessons.

The state government named the school on Sunday soon after federal education minister Dan Tehan launched an attack on Premier Daniel Andrews over his refusal to open schools.

Mr Tehan withdrew his comments later that same day.

Many Australians are now living with relaxed lockdown restrictions, and in Queensland are even able to enjoy parks and hikes (pictured in Brisbane on May 2)