Two people thought to have been infected with Covid during Victorias latest outbreak have been reclassified by health officials as false positives.The health department made the announcement on Thursday evening after two new locally acquired cases of coronavirus were recorded earlier in the day.
“Following analysis by an expert review panel, and retesting through the Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, two cases linked to this outbreak have been declared false positives,†the department said in a statement.
The cases include a woman who was previously understood to have acquired the virus at a Metricon display homes exposure site and a man who was thought to have contracted the virus at the Brighton Beach Hotel exposure site.
“These cases will be reclassified and no longer considered confirmed cases,†the health department said.
“Primary close contacts who are linked only to these cases and not to other exposure sites will be released.
“Any exposure sites linked only to these cases will be stood down, including every exposure site in Anglesea.â€
The health department said the Brighton Beach Hotel and the Metricon display home suite would remain exposure sites as they were linked to other cases.
“Individuals, venues and businesses affected must await formal clearance from the Department of Health or a local public health unit, which will occur throughout the evening,†the statement said.
It brings the state’s active case count back to 67 as the number of exposure sites was increased to 370.
Victoria’s health department reported three new cases on Thursday, but one of those infections was announced on Wednesday in aged care.
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It comes as health authorities announced a seven day extension to lockdown in the greater Melbourne area, while Covid restrictions relaxed in regional Victoria.
The latest exposure areas of concern are six buses in the city of Whittlesea in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, where the first few cases of the latest outbreak first emerged in early May.
More than 300 of the exposure sites have been connected to the city of Whittlesea outbreak.
