Victoria has recorded zero case of Covid-19, as Sydney’s outbreak threatens to spiral out of control after passengers and crew members on five flights were exposed to the virus.
The fresh figures were released on Sunday morning after three people linked to the Sydney outbreak tested positive earlier this week.
On Thursday, an Oakleigh man in his 60s tested positive after returning from a weekend trip to the Harbour City, and his co-worker at the Sandringham Dry Cleaners has also tested positive.
Victoria recorded just one new case on Saturday, which was linked to the outbreak at a Southbank apartment complex which has been in lockdown for almost a fortnight.
Pictured: Healthcare workers at a pop up Covid-19 testing facility outside of the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art complex in Melbourne on June 16
A Virgin flight attendant (not pictured) tested positive for the virus on Saturday night after potentially being infectious on five flights through Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne
The infections sparked fear into the hearts of residents who were terrified their government would plunge them into a fifth lockdown – the last of which ended only two ago, and was prompted by two cases.
Restrictions including travel limits and and mask wearing were still in place last week, but state authorities relaxed the rules over the weekend as the new infections were identified and isolated.
Travel limits were dropped, schools resumed face-to-face contact, and locals can now invite 15 people over to their homes, but masks are still mandatory inside public venues.
Meanwhile, health authorities in Sydney are scrambling to contact passengers on five flights after a Virgin Australia crew member tested positive to Covid.
Pictured: People walking along a busy Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne on June 24, as new infections arrived in the city from Sydney
The five flights on Friday and Saturday took passengers either to or from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.
‘The crew member is now in isolation, and Virgin Australia is rapidly contacting all team members who are close contacts,’ the airline said in a late-night statement on Saturday.
‘Virgin Australia is requiring those crew members to cease flying, get tested and isolate. All passengers on flights the crew member operated will be contacted by health authorities and advised on the correct protocol.’
The worrying news comes as Greater Sydney and surrounding areas were plunged into a 14-day lockdown due to the latest Covid outbreak – originating in the city’s east – that is threatening to spiral out of control.
A further 52 venues were added to the exposure list on Saturday night as the city comes to grips with its most dangerous coronavirus period to date, with 80 cases already.
Pictured: People exercise in Melbourne on June 2. Victoria recorded zero infections on Sunday morning
Stay-at-home orders will apply to all of Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Wollongong areas from 6pm on Saturday and will be in place until midnight on Friday July 9.
Town Hall train station is among 26 new Covid hotspots identified across Sydney in a late night alert from NSW Health, including upmarket restaurants and take-aways, just hours after more than 6million people went into two-week lockdown.
Locals are only allowed to leave their houses for four reasons, which include for school or work if unable to do so from home, medical reasons including to get the vaccine and to give care, for essential shopping and to exercise outside in groups of no more than ten.
‘There is no curfew. You can leave your home at any stage to purchase any essential goods that you need to and that is a given. Be thoughtful and considerate about fellow citizens and no need to panic buy,’ Ms Berejiklian said on Saturday during a media briefing.
‘I said that this the scariest time since the pandemic started and that’s proven to be the case.’
The city’s new light rail system was running at extremely limited capacity, with public transport virtually non-existent throughout the city
Regional NSW will follow restrictions that were previously placed on Sydney which include having only five visitors at a house, wearing masks indoors, hospitality venues reduced to one person per square metre and outdoor venues reduced to 50 per cent capacity.
‘So for those parts of New South Wales that aren’t in lockdown, restrictions still apply because we want to make sure that if there have been any occasions where people unknowingly have taken the virus outside into the regions, that we don’t have any spread in those regions,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
Weddings will be able to go ahead over the weekend but will be banned from Monday.
Funerals can continue with a maximum of 100 guests and masks indoors while community sport will also be shut down over the next fortnight.
Shops will remain open and financial assistance will be available.