Coronavirus tests in a 24-hour period peaked at 57,519 on Wednesday last week, but just 24,265 results were received in the 24 hours to 11.59pm on Sunday.Health authorities have previously stated Sunday tended to be the quietest day for testing centres, but the figure recorded in the past 24 hours was the lowest since May 24, which was before Melbourne was plunged back into lockdown.On Saturday, 29,816 test results were received, which was also down from Friday and Thursday’s figures of 36,362 and 49,439.The health department said more than 500,000 tests had been processed since the latest outbreak began.Wednesday’s figure of more than 57,000 was the highest daily total since the Covid pandemic began in Victoria at the start of 2020.Massive queues at a pop-up Covid test site at Albert Park Lake on May 27. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images“This high rate of testing is critical to our response to the outbreak to ensure we rapidly identify any new cases and investigate their possible chains of transmission,” the department said.There are now more than 212 testing facilities across Victoria.The state’s health department confirmed 11 new infections in a tweet about 9am, but two of the positive cases were revealed on Sunday and linked to the Arcare aged care facility in Maidstone.The new cases take the number of active local cases in the state’s latest outbreak to 79, with two others recovered.The health department also confirmed no new cases in hotel quarantine, which takes the number of active cases in Victoria to 94.The results came from more than 24,000 tests, while 17,719 vaccine doses were also administered in the past 24 hours.Arcare chief executive Colin Singh confirmed the two new cases at the company’s Maidstone facility in Melbourne’s inner west in a media statement on Sunday.A worker wearing full PPE removes bags of clinical waste from Arcare Maidstone Aged Care in Melbourne’s west after the facility went into lockdown on May 31. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Andrew HenshawOne is a 79-year-old resident who lived “in close proximity” to the first two residents diagnosed, while the second is an agency nurse who last worked at the facility on Saturday.Mr Singh said both patients were asymptomatic, but the 79-year-old had been transferred to hospital despite being fully vaccinated “for public health reasons”.All team members who worked at Arcare Maidstone on Saturday will be required to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days.A worker at Arcare Maidstone Aged Care after a resident tested positive. Picture: David CroslingThe number of primary close contacts linked to Victoria’s outbreaks has declined in recent days, as some people take their day 13 tests, complete their 14 days of isolation and are cleared by Victoria’s public health teams.More than 600 primary close contacts were cleared on Friday, another 800 were cleared on Saturday and 1900 were expected to be cleared on Sunday.Victoria’s coronavirus venue alerts list also shrunk overnight from almost 400 sites to 354, but six Upfield train line services were added as public exposure sites.Victorians have been urged to check the state government’s website for the full and frequently changing list.Melbourne has entered the second week of its fourth strict coronavirus lockdown, which is due to end at 11.59pm on Thursday.jack.paynter@news.com.au
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