Aged care COVID case under investigation

The case, which wasn’t added to Wednesday’s daily numbers of zero locally acquired infections, remains under investigation by health authorities.The state’s health department confirmed on Wednesday night it had been notified of a weak positive test result in a man who presented to hospital from the Twin Parks Aged Care facility in Reservoir.The department said the man was a positive case from August last year.They said he had no links to any cases from the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn cluster.“He tested negative twice before a third test returned a weak positive,” the health department said.“The result is thought to represent persistent shedding from a previous infection.”

Health officials retested the man on Wednesday and the result will be considered by members of the expert review panel before they make a verdict on the case.“Out of an abundance of caution while awaiting the repeat test, the aged care facility has been kept safe and all staff and residents were tested,” the health department said.Wednesday’s figure of no new locally acquired cases was a key factor in Victoria’s snap five-day lockdown being lifted on time.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton says while ‘everyone loves a day in the zeros,” the danger for Victoria is ‘not over yet’ because thousands of people exposed to the coronavirus may test positive over the next 14 days.
The restrictions were lifted overnight, removing restrictions around why residents can leave their homes and ending the 5km travel limit.There are 25 active cases in Victoria, made up of 17 locally acquired cases and eight infections acquired overseas.The total number of COVID-19 cases linked to the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn – the cluster that sent Victoria back into a third lockdown – remains at 19.
jack.paynter@news.com.au