GV Health sets up contact tracing team

WARNING OF MORE CASES... GV Health chief executive officer, Matt Sharp, said it was likely case numbers in Greater Shepparton could rise in the coming days. Photo: Struan Jones.
WARNING OF MORE CASES… GV Health chief executive officer, Matt Sharp, said it was likely case numbers in Greater Shepparton could rise in the coming days. Photo: Struan Jones.

The chief executive officer of GV Health, Matt Sharp, has warned of further increases to COVID-19 cases in the region before an expected drop in the coming weeks.

Active cases in Greater Shepparton reached 20 earlier this week, and GV Health has set up a Contact Tracing Team to track and limit the spread of the virus across the Hume Region.

The multidisciplinary team of 25 is responsible for identifying those who may have come into contact with positive cases and assessing their risk of infection.

According to GV Health, seven active cases are related to the Shepparton Villages outbreak, including one resident, two staff members, and four contacts of the staff members.

A separate community outbreak has 10 active cases.

There are three other separate active cases, with one linked to a case in Campaspe shire, which itself has two cases.

No patients with COVID-19 are currently admitted at GV Health.

Mr Sharp said targeted testing would occur later this week in susceptible workplaces in the region, such as food processing centres and meat works.

Speaking on Monday, he reiterated that getting tested was critical for anyone showing even mild symptoms of flu, flu-like or cough and cold symptoms.

“We’re seeing people wait two or three days before getting tested. As soon as you have symptoms…get tested straight away,” he said.

GV Health’s Acute Respiratory Clinic at Graham Street in Shepparton has seen an average of 105 people coming in to be tested over recent weeks, according to Mr Sharp, and a pop-up testing site in Tatura last Friday tested 58 people for the virus.

Despite not disclosing the ages of the active cases in Greater Shepparton, Mr Sharp warned of a greater prevalence of the virus among under-40s, and said, “You only need to look at the rates of infection and unfortunately the number of people that are dying when they do contract COVID-19.

“It is a serious disease. It’s not something that should be dismissed.”