Name: Coronavirus Victoria: State urged to remain vigilant despite 'elimination' of COVID-19
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Coronavirus Victoria: State urged to remain vigilant despite 'elimination' of COVID-19

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No rush back to the office until virus in wastewater mystery is solved, experts sayWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementIt may be months before Melburnians can return to the office en masse, with epidemiologists cautioning against unleashing the city's entire workforce until it is clear why fragments of the virus continue to surface in wastewater.Victoria ended the week on a high as Friday marked the 28th consecutive "double doughnut day", a milestone epidemiologists say signals the elimination of COVID-19 in the community. However, they warn that the state is nowhere near to eradicating the virus."Before we consider opening up any further we need to know more about that residual virus being detected in the sewerage water," University of Melbourne epidemiologist John Mathews said."In my view, the government are being too tight-lipped about it and we need more extensive information about why this is occurring," Professor Mathews said.Particles of the virus were detected this week in wastewater collected in Geelong's north, causing concern among health officials as there's been no recent cases in the area.Click play to see how Victoria's second wave unfolded:Viral fragments have also been detected in wastewater in Altona, Benalla and Portland in recent weeks, but increased testing of residents and visitors in these areas has failed to reveal anyone with the virus.AdvertisementDeakin University epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett suspects the fragments could be linked to people who have travelled to regional areas while they are still shedding the virus.People who have had coronavirus may shed the virus or virus fragments for several weeks in their stool, well beyond their infectious period, she said."The hope is that they are old cases or they are false positives," Professor Bennett said."It is likely that while we are still getting these positive sewage results and waiting to see how SA goes with their cluster, we'll probably not see any very quick changes to restrictions and we will continue with a staggered and progressive easing back to work."Burnet Institute epidemiologist Mike Toole said traces of the virus in sewage water should be closely examined, but are not a cause for alarm."They have never found a full virus that is infectious and nobody has ever been infected by one of those fragments," Professor Toole said, noting in China fragments of the virus have even been found on packets of frozen food, some which have travelled from Latin America."It is not that unexpected that somebody is still excreting fragments of virus months or weeks later and it's got into the sewerage system. None of those have ever led to finding a silent case, but it doesn't mean it couldn’t happen."Professor Toole said while 28 days without any new cases was an extraordinary achievement, it did not signal eradication and "we should expect the virus to return at some point"."It is the elimination of local transmission in Victoria and that has been that case for two full incubation periods," Professor Toole said. "But that doesn't mean there isn't someone in the community with no symptoms who never got tested, though it's probably unlikely".Of all the human pathogens that have circulated the world in recent history, only smallpox has officially been deemed to have been eradicated globally, he said.For measles, the World Health Organisation demands no community transmission for at least 36 months for it to be classed as eliminated.Experts have also warned coronavirus has frequently re-emerged in states and countries where it was believed to have been eliminated, including New Zealand, which discovered a new cluster after being virus free for 102 days.South Australia had also seemingly eliminated the virus before it leaked out of hotel quarantine. South Korea, Vietnam, Israel and Hong Kong also experienced a spike in cases following months of low-level community transmission.Australia was now an almost COVID-free oasis surrounded by a tsunami of virus overseas, Professor Toole said. The biggest risk of a third wave was posed by the virus coming into the country via a returned traveller."Melbourne now has the chance to design the world's best quarantine system from scratch given all the lessons we learned and all that has been revealed by the hotel quarantine inquiry and what we have seen happen in Adelaide," Professor Toole said."This will require arrangements that employ well-trained and adequately paid workers who are regularly monitored by infection control and occupational health and safety experts."Advance contact tracing, which identifies close contacts of hotel quarantine staff before they might test positive for the virus was critical as long as confidentiality is assured, he said."Community trust is vital and we must avoid the vilification of individuals that marred the SA response," he said.Professor Bennett said Victoria was exiting its second wave with vastly boosted contact tracing system, which is still testing up to 16,000 people a day and that has early detection measures in place.“It really does means there should not be a third wave," she said."If everyone with symptoms doesn't go to work, if everyone with symptoms gets tested, if we’ve got active testing of our asymptomatic workers and we’ve got our wastewater screening, if something is out there we should find it very early."Melbourne will start to receive international arrivals again on December 7, with Mr Andrews confirming the state will stick with a modified version of its original hotel quarantine program.The Premier , as was recommended by the state's hotel quarantine inquiry, but said Australians returning to Melbourne will be required to be tested for coronavirus before they board a flight.There have been 20,345 cases of COVID-19 in Victoria and 819 deaths, most of them among the elderly in aged care.Mr Andrews marked the 28-day milestone on Friday morning, telling a public accounts and estimates committee "this is something all Victorians should be fundamentally proud of."At the end of each day, we’ll send you the most important breaking news headlines, evening entertainment ideas and a long read to enjoy. &nbsp;Sign up&nbsp;.Log in, or to save articles for later. is The Age's health reporter. – David is a crime and justice reporter at The Age. Get in touch atdavid.estcourt@theage.com.au.Advertisement

No rush back to the office until virus in wastewater mystery is solved, experts sayWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementIt may be months before Melburnians can return to the office en masse, with epidemiologists cautioning against unleashing the city's entire workforce until it is clear why fragments of the virus continue to surface in wastewater.Victoria ended the week on a high as Friday marked...

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Melissa Cunningham

Crime/justice reporter @theage. Not on here much, but keen to hear from you: david.estcourt@theage.com.au

David Estcourt

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Coronavirus Victoria: State urged to remain vigilant despite 'elimination' of COVID-19

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