ANOTHER five COVID-19 infections have been detected in regional Victoria, including one in\u00a0greater Geelong, one in Mildura, two in Gippsland and one linked to the V\/Line driver cluster.<\/p>\n
Across the state there were 392 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases which come as all of Victoria regional train services were suspended.<\/p>\n
More than 180 drivers and operational staff were placed in isolation following four positive coronavirus tests among workers.<\/p>\n
“Out of an abundance of caution we are suspending all trains on Sunday to limit the spread and to keep everyone safe,” a Department of Transport statement said.<\/p>\n
More exposure sites have been announced in regional Victoria, including Caltex Ravenswood on Tuesday, 7 September between 2.45pm and 3.15pm, Vantage Fuels Carlsruhe on Thursday, 9 September between 7.14pm and 7.45pm, Celebrations Woodend on the same day between 5.35pm and 6.30pm and the Gisborne South Primary School construction site on Friday, 3 September between 10.52am and 12pm.<\/p>\n
Anyone who visited these location are advised to get tested and isolate until given a negative result.<\/p>\n
A series of pop-up vaccination hubs will be set up across Victoria, with the first five slated for COVID-ravaged areas.<\/p>\n
Premier Daniel Andrews said the 100 pop-up vaccination hubs will be established across\u00a0100 “priority postcodes”.<\/p>\n
“Postcodes where there are case numbers, postcodes where there are perhaps not enough people through the vaccination program,”\u00a0he said.<\/p>\n
“This will be done in stages. The first of those are five community-based pop-ups.<\/p>\n
“They will be in areas that need the most. So in the outbreak areas where cases are potentially growing in Hume, Dandenong and Casey.”<\/p>\n
The first of the pop-up hubs will open within days and demand will determine how long they remain before moving on.<\/p>\n
The initiative has been incorporated into the state government’s push to get all\u00a012-year-old and up students\u00a0vaccinated by the end of the school year.<\/p>\n
Some 70 schools will become pop-up sites, with the first eight\u00a0in Dandenong, Point Cook, Werribee, Gladstone Park, Caroline Springs, Brunswick and Tarneit.<\/p>\n
“These pop-ups are all about removing another barrier, taking the vaccination program to you,” Mr Andrews said.<\/p>\n
“You can come and be part of that, get your first and second dose, play your part, get the lockdowns off and protect yourself against becoming seriously ill.”<\/p>\n
Of the new cases announced today, 255 were from the city’s north and another 89 came from the western suburbs.<\/p>\n
The health department confirmed 107 cases were linked to known outbreaks, with the source of the still 285 under investigation.<\/p>\n
It brings the total number of active cases in the state to 3112, with all but four locally acquired.<\/p>\n
Mr Andrews said 85 per cent of active cases are under the age of 50.<\/p>\n
“This is not just something for the frail aged,” he said.<\/p>\n
“That is the nature of a pandemic of the unvaccinated. That group is still too big for us to be able to open up.”<\/p>\n
The state has 147 people in hospital with COVID-19, up four from Saturday, with 34 of those people in intensive care units and 28 of them on a ventilator.<\/p>\n
Of the cases in hospital, only one was fully vaccinated and isn’t believed to be on a ventilator.<\/p>\n
In the 24 hours to Sunday morning, 48,063 tests were processed and 36,534 Victorians received a vaccine dose at a state-run hub.<\/p>\n
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– BY AAP<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n