The Victorian Premier won’t rule out a hard lockdown in regional Victoria after a new case of COVID-19 was recorded in Shepparton.
The case is in isolation at home in the town about 200km north of Melbourne.
The case is the first in regional Victoria connected to the current outbreak, and Premier Daniel Andrews is urging people to get tested.
“I know that the people of the Goulburn Valley will absolutely step up and get tested just like they did last year,” he told reporters on Friday.
Regional Victoria has so far escaped many of the tougher lockdown rules that have been imposed in metropolitan Melbourne.
Students from Greater Shepparton Secondary College’s Wanganui and McGuire campuses were identified as Tier 1 close contacts on Friday and parents have been told to collect them as soon as possible.
Students and their families have been told to remain at home until they receive further orders from the health department.
The school had returned to on-site learning on August 10 after a recent five-day lockdown.
St Mel’s Primary School has also been closed.
Goulburn Valley Health says contact tracing is underway in the town and people will be notified of any exposure sites, while two new drive-through testing sites are being set up.
COVID-19 has been detected in wastewater samples in the area since August 10.
During the state’s deadly second wave in 2020, a Melbourne truck driver spread the virus to Shepparton, infecting three people.
AAP
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