Hobsons Bay council has emphasised its support for people isolating due to COVID-19 exposure, as Victoria’s lockdown is extended for another week.
There were 20 new cases recorded on Wednesday, six of whom were not in quarantine during their infectious period.
The lockdown has been extended until 11.59pm next Thursday.
Hobsons Bay’s sustainable communities director Penelope Winslade told Tuesday night’s council meeting there were about 1600 contacts in isolation in the municipality.
“As at this morning’s report, we had about 900 people who had had tier one contacts and 700 tier two, roughly, in Hobsons Bay,” she said.
“In relation to the outbreak, we’re working very closely with the state government to help them, for example, access facilities.
“All the parts of council helped to get a testing site up and running overnight on Thursday night [at BayFit Leisure Centre in Altona North] to be able to run a rapid testing service.
“We’re also working with local GPs to help get the message out about the services that are available.
“We offer a service called the Community Connector if they’re needing help when they’re in isolation or quarantine, whether it’s help with shopping, help getting medicine, help getting library books, help getting access to services that council might not offer but we can help people navigate to them – whether it’s counselling or emergency food relief and those sorts of things.”
The Community Connector program has trained council staff helping people access food hampers, pet food, medication, nappies, cleaning supplies, masks, social activities, employment, training, culturally and linguistically diverse services, counselling, mental health and domestic violence support, and aged care and family services.
Volunteering and donation opportunities are available.
Contact the program at communityconnector@hobsonsbay.vic.gov.au or 1300 179 944.
