By Laura Michell
There are now 50 cases of COVID-19 across Whittlesea and Hume, according to latest data from the Department of Health and Human Services..
The number of cases in Hume has risen to 32, up from 29 last Thursday.
In Whittlesea, 18 cases have been recorded, up from 15.
There are now 1158 cases across Victoria, of which 88 may be the result of community transmission.
Ten people in Victoria have died from coronavirus.
Stonnington continues to have the highest number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in the state (86), followed by Banyule (72) and Boroondara (58).
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said the testing criteria for COVID-19 has been broadened to include people whose employment and contact with the broader public may place them at higher risk of exposure to any virus which maybe circulating in the community.
He said said the changes are aimed at striking a balance between identifying cases that are not linked to known travel or other risks and maintaining current suppression efforts targeted at returned travellers and contacts of current cases
“The number of community acquired cases contracted from an unknown source are continuing to rise – the expansion of the testing criteria will allow us to get a clearer picture of how much the virus is circulating,” Professor Sutton said.
“These new criteria do not mean our stage three restrictions should be relaxed. The reverse is true, we must continue these actions to flatten the curve.”
