A Victorian prep student has tested positive to COVID-19, forcing the school to close, as community transmission continues in Melbourne’s inner west and north.
The young student at Newbury Primary School in Craigieburn is among the state’s three latest cases of COVID-19.
The prep student went to school without symptoms late last week but developed symptoms over the weekend, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said on June 5.
The student was tested on Wednesday. The health department became aware of the result on Thursday and the school was shut on Friday for cleaning.
Contact tracing is now being done to identify whether any staff or students are required to self-isolate, and to determine whether further action is required to reduce the risk of infection.
Sutton said the school was notified late last night so some parents may only be finding out today about the closure.
“These are community cases. They are almost certainly picked up in the community, they happen to be attending school but this is not a transmission within the school, and the risk of transmission in the school remains very low,” Sutton said.
Close contacts of the student will be identified and told to self-isolate.
After similar cases in Keilor Downs, Sutton pinpointed Melbourne’s inner west and inner north as the latest virus breeding grounds.
“The recent cases illustrate there really is ongoing community transmission in Victoria, it’s at very low levels,” he said.
“But it does seem to be concentrated to the inner north and inner west of Melbourne. Right from Keilor Downs through to Fawkner, to Craigieburn, this is where in the last couple of weeks we’ve seen community cases.
“These areas of Melbourne appear to be the hotspots at the moment.”
He urged anyone in Melbourne’s inner west to inner north to get tested and isolate if they have symptoms, and reminded people to stay home unless absolutely necessary - including staying away from a planned Black Lives Matter protest in the CBD on Saturday.
Among the state’s latest cases, the two others were in hotel quarantine.
Victoria’s total recorded cases sits at 1681.
There are 178 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state acquired through unknown transmission.
Seven people with the virus are in hospital, with one in intensive care.
So far, 1586 people have recovered from the virus while 19 people die
