8.40pm:
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St Therese's Primary School in Kennington will also close on Tuesday to undertake contact tracing and cleaning after students tested positive for COVID-19.
The students were onsite on October 11 and 12.
St Therese's school recommends students and staff who were at school on those dates get tested and stay home until further notice.
The school will update families as more information is made available.
7.45pm:
St Peters Primary School will also close on Tuesday after a student tested positive for coronavirus.
The school said in a letter to families that the closure will initially be 24 hours to allow for contact tracing and cleaning to commence.
Students who attended the school between October 11 and 15 are advised to stay home while contact tracing is undertaken. Affected students, staff and families will be contact over the next 24 hours.
The school will update families once contact tracing has been completed and a decision about reopening the school to students has been made.
6.05pm:
Catherine McAuley College will close both its campuses on Tuesday after confirmed a positive case of COVID-19.
The school's closure will allow for contract tracing to commence.
More information will be provided directly to school families on Tuesday.
3.35pm
Bendigo has recorded an extra 14 cases of COVID-19, the state's chief health officer has confirmed.
The new cases are among 166 recorded on Sunday.
A further three cases have been recorded in the Macedon Ranges Shire area.
The Department of Health is yet to release a detailed breakdown of new cases by local government area and postcode.
The new cases have added momentum to the rapidly expanding outbreak in the Bendigo area.
Greater Bendigo has easily eclipsed its previous record for the most number of active cases at any one time.
Last Friday, the municipality's numbers eclipsed the then record of 57 that had been recorded in August 2020, at the highpoint of the outbreak associated with COVID-19's so-called "second wave".
A Bendigo Advertiser analysis of both outbreaks suggests that new cases have spread roughly as quickly during this outbreak as the last, despite the extra virility of the current delta strain.
Both outbreaks had climbed above 50 cases within two weeks of the fifth and sixth cases being recorded and it started to become clear transmission was taking place in the community.
Greater Bendigo was able to keep a lid on the 2021 outbreak for a little longer than the one that took place the year before.
But numbers have exploded by a factor of six over the last nine days.
In more breaking news, 95 per cent of central Victorians aged 16 and over have now had at least one COVID-19 vaccination dose.
Central Victoria has hit 95 per cent first dose vaccination rates for those aged 16 and over.
The achievement has been revealed after the federal government released a trove of new data.
Bendigo Health Board Chair Bob Cameron said it was a fantastic effort from the community, as double dose vaccination rates climb to 73 per cent.
"What a great achievement by local people, protecting local people," he said.
Health workers are urging anyone who has not had a vaccination to get it as soon as possible, as a "large increase" in cases are expected as travel restrictions out of Melbourne lift.
"While the vaccination rates are very high, we know unvaccinated people are a higher risk of hospitalisation and as a health service we want to protect against this," Mr Cameron said.
Bendigo Health is currently treating four people for COVID-19 in its intensive care unit.
Seven people with the virus are being treated on the respiratory ward and another 72 through the Hospital in the Home monitoring program.
12.04pm
THE Victorian government will spend $54.5 million to help push retailers, gyms and hair salons outdoors.
Much of the money will be funnelled through councils and target businesses and other organisations who want to operate safely.
Small business minister Jaala Pulford said many groups that did not qualify for similar funding for outdoor dining in 2020 would be included.
"That will be able to [allow them to] explore new options to take some, if not all, of their trade outdoors," she said.
The package includes $2000 grants for outdoor options.
"So things like marquees, heating, screens, umbrellas, insurance, training staff and promoting these new options for trade," Ms Pulford said.
"One in five of these vouchers will go to organisations in regional Victoria."
The package also includes money for councils to help with things like fencing, furniture, public art and entertainment to "bring outdoor precincts to life", Ms Pulford said.
Councils will also be able to set up permanent or semi-permanent outdoor precincts.
"We have designed this in a way that these funds will be able to get to councils very, very quickly," Ms Pulford said.
They will need to provide us with a plan and account for what it is that they are doing with the funding.
"But this is about making the support available within days to help our small businesses to recover and get back on their feet."
Councils will not be able to create or impose any new or net additional fees and charges on businesses to use the outdoor spaces.
"There is a task for all of us, councils included, to be supporting businesses that have borne a heavy burden, really significant burden," Ms Pulford said.
11.53am
REGIONAL Victoria has recorded 166 new COVID-19 cases as "spot fires" break out across different parts of the state.
It means the proportion of Victoria's total cases are growing steadily, COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar says.
He has warned of the phenomenon during a press conference but has not specifically mentioned any areas in central Victoria.
Mr Weimar thanked health services in spot fire communities for their quick action in workplaces and households.
"Swift contact tracing and support by local agencies has contained those quickly and we don't see any significant onward spread at this point in time," he said.
Earlier
VICTORIA has recorded another 1,903 new coronavirus cases overnight from just under 70,000 tests.
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died.
Read more:
Another 32,405 vaccinations were also administered on Sunday.
Victoria's active coronavirus case tally now sits at 22,327.
These cases come as Greater Bendigo recorded nine new cases of COVID-19 since Saturday.
Data on the Department of Health's website said there were four cases in the postcode of 3550, two cases in 3551, two in 3556 and one case in 3555.
These are part of the 142 cases in regional Victoria.
There were four new cases recorded in the Macedon Ranges area and 12 in the Mitchell Shire
Campaspe Shire recorded one case and there were zero cases recorded in Mount Alexander and Gannawarra shires.
Other regions that recorded cases in regional Victoria since Friday were:
- Greater Sheppaton had 33 cases
- Geelong had 19 cases
- Baw Baw Shire saw 19 cases
- LaTrobe Valley had six cases
- Mildura recorded 12 cases
The Bendigo Advertiser understands a number of schools around the city have been exposed to COVID-19.
It is believed parents have received notifications from Brady Bunch Early Learning Bendigo, Kennington Primary School and Victory Christian College that say members of their school communities have come into contact with positive cases.
A parent has said Brady Bunch confirmed a COVID-19 positive case was there on October 8 between 1.06pm and 2.30pm.
The message said the centre had closed for deep cleaning and families who attended the building on that day should get tested and isolate until they obtain a negative result.
Parents were told a case attended Strathfieldsaye Goodstart Early Learning Centre on October 8.
Victory Christian College has said they will have a pupil free day on Monday, October 18 and Kennington Primary School will close for 24 hours as a precaution.
Bendigo Wholefoods has confirmed it is no longer a COVID-19 exposure site.
In a post on social media, staff said they had been contacted by the Department of Health.
"We have just heard from the Public Health Team that we are not going to be listed as an exposure site," the post said.
"If you see us up on it, don't panic - that is an accident that they are rectifying.
"The only close contacts are kitchen staff which means we still need to close the cafe side until October 23 due to lack of staff."
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