Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp confirmed the positive tests on Tuesday morning.“One of these cases is linked to a person that has tested positive for Covid in recent days and one is not,” he said.“There are now seven active community cases of people with Covid in Shepparton in four separate households.”Testing is available at the GV Health Acute Respiratory Clinic on Graham St or drive through testing is open at the Shepparton Showgrounds.A range of exposure sites have been listed by Mr Sharp on his Facebook page.How Shepparton beat regional Vic’s worst outbreakGoulburn Valley Health staff have been declared the unsung heroes of Shepparton’s Covid outbreak.It took just over three weeks for the country town in the state’s north to contain regional Victoria’s worst outbreak to date — and the first Delta variant to seriously infiltrate a small town.More than 140 positive cases were confirmed, over 50,000 tests completed with a third of the population was locked inside their homes at the height of the crisis.But as of 11.59pm Wednesday lockdown will lift in Shepparton and community leaders say it would not have happened without the hospital staff, led my chief executive Matt Sharp.“I’m really proud of what GV Health and the Shepparton community has been able to achieve,” he said.“We had staff working double shifts and overtime to help us keep essential services open during the outbreak. At one time, we had more than 500 people in isolation and it really stretched us.“But we’re extremely thankful to the support we received from other health services who sent staff to help us get through this.“The announcement of lockdown ending is very good news.”Mr Sharp also thanked the community for its support.“People are very much connected to their local health service as is the case in other regional communities,” he said.“They care deeply about it in times of crisis — whether it is a Covid outbreak or an ill family member.“It was important for us to show we were there to support everyone.”Greater Shepparton City Council mayor Kim O’Keeffe said the community had proven its ability to come together in a time of need.It followed a smaller outbreak of three cases in October last year.“Everyone should be extremely proud of themselves for helping to overcome the outbreak in our region,” she said.“Wednesday’s news of the easing of lockdown is a testament to the amazing work of every single resident within the community.“I am extremely proud of the efforts of our region including the ongoing commitment to get tested, isolate, support each other and get vaccinated. The true spirit of Greater Shepparton’s resilience has been on show during this difficult time.“As we now come out of lockdown let’s continue to support each other and help businesses who are able to resume trading get back to the positive positions they were previously in.” Businesses in Shepparton have been celebrating since the announcement was made on Wednesday morning.Get Chopped Barber & Beer‘d Shepparton owner Melannie Frauenfelder said her phone had been ringing off the hook.“I’m absolutely thrilled because the last few weeks have been extremely difficult,” she said.“One of the biggest challenges has been trying to reschedule so many appointments which has now created a backlog. But it’s awesome knowing people are so keen to come back in and support us.“It’s going to be great to just sit down and chat with clients because it’s one thing I have missed when I was closed.”Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews paid tribute to Shepparton.“That is a credit to the people of the Goulburn Valley and I pass on my thanks to each and every one of them,” Mr Andrews said.“They have done an amazing job.“Shepparton shows you that a community can be locked down, can stick together, can be supported, and deliver fundamental control of an outbreak.“We know and are confident that can happen in the Ballarat community.”NED-4476-Covid-19-Vaccine-Rates-VictoriaWith cases still active in the community, Mr Andrews said there was still work to be done.“We will continue supporting those people who are doing the right thing and isolating,” he said.“But now our goal is continuing increasing our vaccination numbers — 73 per cent of eligible people have had a first dose in Shepparton and 40 per cent of people are double dosed.“We expect the number of people who are fully vaccinated to keep rising in the coming weeks.“But if you haven’t made an appointment yet, please come forward.”MCG petitionHow Shepparton became the centre of a Covid outbreakOn the night of August 12 Shepparton, a country town in the state’s northeast, was blissfully unaware what was around the corner.Covid had been detected in the town’s wastewater for days but no one could have predicted the Goulburn Valley would become the hotspot that plunged regional Victoria back into lockdown.On Friday morning, August 20, Shepparton had recorded its first Covid case in more than 300 days.By Friday afternoon, 11 more were added to the tally.By 8pm that skyrocketed to 17.On Saturday afternoon, Goulburn Valley Health’s boss stood in front of media to officially place the community on high alert as another four were added — with more likely to come.Alarmingly, he said most of those infected were children.“We are working as hard as we can,” Mr Sharp said.“(The number of people isolating is) going to be in the thousands. I’d expect more people to test positive.“Based on what we’re seeing it’s probably more than likely the Delta strain.”Mr Sharp said the original case was still being investigated but his resources had been significantly impacted with at least 100 of his workers isolating.Greater Shepparton City Council mayor Kim O’Keeffe said she was concerned for the community but urged people to be strong.“The community is concerned because we have seen the increase in numbers,” she said.“But we are doing everything we need to be doing.“I am really proud of our community. We’ve certainly shown in the past (when Shepparton had its first cluster in late 2019) and we’re doing it again.“It is so important that our community is well informed. It’s important that we feel connected to each other.”Shepparton’s outbreak forced regional Victoria back into lockdown last month but Cr O’Keeffe said it needed to be done.“When numbers are rising that’s exactly what we need to do,” she said.“The quicker we lockdown, the quicker we get out.“If we didn’t do that we would be in a much worse situation moving forward. Of course it’s devastating for our businesses but health needs to be our priority.”
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