Premier Daniel Andrews announced the regions would operate under the same rules as Melbourne but without a curfew.It comes after Shepparton recorded 17 new Covid cases on Friday night.Kialla man in his 30s was the first confirmed case but authorities have not confirmed how he got the virus.Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp confirmed the number of cases linked to the man had risen to 16 on Friday night.All additional 16 cases are now isolating.“Earlier today there was a new case of COVID-19 in Shepparton reported being a male in his 30s. Further COVID-19 testing has been carried out today of family members related to this man and people in their networks,” Mr Sharp said in an update shortly after 8pm.“It is likely there will be further people testing positive for COVID-19 in coming days.“Contact tracing is progressing and will continue as a primary focus. Anyone identified as a close contact will be contacted directly by the contact tracing team.”“Clearly this is an area of concern for us at the minute as we move as fast as we can through the contact tracing process,” Mr Sharp said at a press conference earlier in the day.Greater Shepparton City Council mayor Kim O’Keeffe urged the community to remain calm and support one another.“We’re all feeling if that (lockdown) is what we need to do for the safety of the community, we’ll do it,” she said.“We’re trying all we can to support the community, stay calm and step up to the mark and do what we need to.”Three schools have been closed with Greater Shepparton Secondary College’s McGuire and Wanganui campuses have been confirmed as tier one sites.The Shepparton Tutoring Centre, at 296 Wyndham Street, has been listed as a tier one exposure site for anyone who attended between 4pm and 6pm on August 17.People are being asked to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days.A spokesperson from Catholic Education Sandhurst confirmed a member of the St Mel’s Primary School community had tested positive.A GSSC spokesperson said parents needed to collect their students “as soon as practicable from all campuses”.“Please note you must collect your children from school. Buses will not be used as a preventative health measure,” the spokesperson said.“Students are advised to take their books and devices home with them in the expectation of possible lockdown measures being put in place.”A spokesperson from Catholic Education Sandhurst said it was understood parents had also been asked to collect their students from school so a deep clean could be undertaken.“Contact tracing is underway and will continue as a primary focus of GV Health’s Local Public Health Unit,” he said. “Further details regarding any community locations of concern will be provided once this information is known and if it represents a concern.”A Bendigo business has also been announced as an exposure site in the wake of the regional Victorian cases 119km away.Bendigo earthmoving equipment seller, Delecca‘s posted on Facebook that it was forced to close, with the all staff awaiting their test results after an exposure on the afternoon of Friday August 13.“It is with a heavy heart that we need to make this announcement,” it said.Shepparton’s COVID exposure sitesMeanwhile, Moama Anglican Grammar informed parents on Friday afternoon a parent of a student worked at one of the schools closed in Shepparton.In a letter to parents, principal Carmel Spry said “rooms will be cleaned as a precaution”.“This parent has had no contact at all with any of the people identified at this stage,” she said.“The parent is not a close contact but has been told to quarantine with their family until all close contacts are notified — this is the normal precaution and will take approximately 24-48 hours.”Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews refused to rule out placing regional Victoria back into lockdown if cases continued to escalate.“This is very, very serious,” he said.“There are too many of them (cases) out there and there are too many that have been out in the community for too long.“We are right on the edge of this getting away from us. This Delta variant is so infectious that it will find every breach of every rule, and it will potentially spread because of that.”But he backed the Shepparton community to do the right thing.“Shepparton did such an amazing job last year. I know the people of the Goulburn Valley will step up,” he said.Mr Sharp said close contacts would be notified directly by the tracing team, and exposure sites would be published during the day as more information became available. He reminded anyone who was feeling unwell to get tested immediately, and to isolate until they received their results. “Please do the right thing and do not place your family members, friends, colleagues and the broader community at risk,” Mr Sharp said. Three testing sites are available to residents on Saturday.They include GV Health’s Acute Respiratory Clinic at Graham Street, Shepparton.Drive through clinics are open at the Shepparton Sports Precinct and Shepparton Greyhound and Trotting Track.Lisa Stevens said she rushed her family to the testing site after receiving a notification that her family had to isolate for 14 days. One of her children attends after school care at St Mel’s Primary School. “I was nervous seeing a huge amount of people out in Shepparton,” she said. “I didn’t feel safe, even though we weren’t in lockdown.”
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