Prof Sutton declared that from 12.01am Wednesday, people travelling from the two regions would not face a mandatory two-week quarantine. They will still need to isolate, get a coronavirus test within 72 hours, and remain in isolation until they get a negative result. “People currently in Victoria with a red zone permit — having entered Victoria after the red zone came into effect — will be able to be released early from their 14-day quarantine period if they have tested negative,” a Health Department spokesperson said. “They must await formal clearance and release from the Department of Health.“People currently in Victoria with an orange zone permit — having entered Victoria between 17 April until the red zone came into effect — can end their isolation period when they have received a negative test.“The small number of contacts in Victoria linked to exposure sites in WA will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis according to risk and must await contact from the Department of Health regarding their conditions and clearance.“Some will not be released from their 14-day quarantine period.” Casual contacts linked to the exposure site at Melbourne Airport can also leave quarantine — pending a negative test result — but anyone linked to QF778 from Perth to Melbourne on April 21 must complete their two weeks. The border zone change comes as a total of 837 red zone permit holders returned a negative test, along with all of the passengers, air and ground crew linked to the QF778 flight. More than 1100 red zone permit holders were yet to receive their results ahead of the COVID daily update. Two teenagers — a male and female — are among the four new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Victorian hotel quarantine. A woman in her 20s and a man in his 30s also tested positive, but community transmission remained at zero for the 60th day in a row. Victoria, along with New Zealand, Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory, closed its border to arrivals from Perth on Friday.Mr Foley confirmed 265 travellers who flew in from Perth with an infected traveller on April 21 had all tested negative to coronavirus, with one result pending.The Victorian man arrived in Perth on April 3 from Shanghai and his room was alongside a family of three from the United Kingdom – two of whom also became sick with the virus.They caught coronavirus from a couple who had travelled from India and were in an opposite room.The Commonwealth Security Committee will meet on Tuesday to discuss any assistance for India as well as any extra steps that may need to be taken to minimise the risk of infections spreading to Australia.The Indian health system is at breaking point from the country‘s second deadly COVID-19 wave, with horrific scenes of overwhelmed hospitals, oxygen supplies critically low and people dying in the streets.More than 17 million people in India have contracted coronavirus.“Clearly, what’s happening in India is a humanitarian catastrophe, and it’s going to increase for some time yet,” Mr Foley said.“We’ve seen an increasing number of returned traveller from the subcontinent returning positive at twice the rate of other returnees, and we’re seeing those returnees disproportionately test negative on day zero.“It raises uncertainty as to the testing of the infectivity levels of the pandemic in India.”
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