By Alesha Capone
Wyndham council is working with 39 local medical clinics to assist residents who are diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Mayor Josh Gilligan said that with a patient’s consent, trained council officers were conducting high-level contact tracing and providing general health advice around the need for patients and close contacts to self-isolate.
“The initial contact will be via our Environmental Health team who have been recently trained by Department of Health and Human Services as part of earlier redeployment efforts and can provide expert advice around public health and broader advice for close contacts and family members,” Cr Gilligan said.
“This initial contact will also enable officers to mobilise other welfare initiatives such as accommodation, food relief and economic support through some of the great work already conducted by Wyndham council.”
DHHS testing commander Jeroen Weimar last week said that authorities were also taking samples from wastewater at 25 locations across the state, to see if there were changes in the level of coronavirus present in the water.
These locations include Western Treatment Plant in Werribee, metropolitan Sewerage System sites in Brooklyn and Footscray and 14 regional sewage treatment plants, including in Geelong.
As of Friday, there were 157 active cases of the coronavirus recorded in Wyndham (compared to 234 active cases a week earlier).
The 3029 area (Hoppers Crossing, Tarneit and Truganina) recorded 84 cases, while 3030 (Werribee, Point Cook, Werribee South and Quandong) recorded 80 cases.
The 3024 postcode (Mambourin, Manor Lakes, Mount Cottrell and Wyndham Vale) recorded 10 cases, and 3027 (Williams Landing) two cases.
An outbreak at the Baptcare Wyndham Lodge Community in Werribee has been linked to 240 virus cases.
Police intercepted a woman in Greaves Street, Werribee after curfew last Thursday.
When questioned by police, the woman told them she had driven from Geelong to Melbourne to buy a kebab, and was then driving back to Werribee to visit her boyfriend.
