Cardinia cases on the rise

Annie Dowson at the Lang Lang Pharmacy wearing a pineapple mask made by a family friend. 211889_01

By Jessica Anstice

There were 27 active cases of coronavirus in Cardinia Shire as of Monday 27 July, according to data from the state’s Department of Health.

In other local government areas in the south east, active cases in the City of Casey continued to rise to 178, while Baw Baw sat at three.

In total, the Cardinia Shire alone has had 58 Covid-19 cases.

Across the state, 532 new cases and six new deaths were reported, as of Monday.

Overall, there are currently 4542 known active cases in Victoria.

“The key message today for every single Victorian, regardless of where they work and regardless of where they live, you simply can’t go to work if you have symptoms,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.

“You can’t go to work if you feel sick even mildly. You have got to go and get tested.

“If you are going to work when you are sick, then you will inevitably be spreading this virus – this is the biggest driver of transmission. It is the biggest driver of numbers going up rather than going down.”

A case numbers continue to rise, the State Government has sought assistance from the Australian Defence Force (ADF) of more than 1400 members.

The ADF’s job will be to support the government’s state-led operations in both enforcing the border around metro Melbourne and other critical tasks.

As part of the ADF’s support for the DHHS Case and Contact Management program, they will be assisting authorised officers to follow up positive cases who cannot be contacted by phone or who are refusing to cooperate.

Under new arrangements recently implemented, if a person cannot be contacted after two calls within a two hour window or if they refuse to participate in a contact tracing interview, ADF personnel accompanied by an authorised officer will visit the address on the same day.

If the person is not home when the ADF attend the property, an investigation is undertaken to determine the reason for absence and to ensure the home address is correct.

If someone is found to be violating the Chief Health Officer’s direction to isolate, they will be issued with a fine.