Wastewater testing has revealed COVID fragments in Melbourne’s inner north and west

Two Victorians have tested positive to COVID overnight, along with six new infections in hotel quarantine.

It bring the state’s active caseload to 85, with nearly 30,000 test results received on Saturday.

Viral fragments have been detected in a wastewater sample retrieved from catchments serving suburbs in Melbourne’s inner west and north.

This detection is “of interest” to the health department, with no confirmed COVID-19 cases in those suburbs.

However, the catchment area contains exposure sites and is near to West Melbourne, where the Delta cluster has emerged.

Residents of and recent visitors to the suburbs of Aberfeldie, Essendon, Essendon West, Flemington, Footscray, Kensington, Maribyrnong, Moonee Ponds, Parkville and Travancore are urged to get tested if they develop any symptoms.

“The wastewater testing program is designed as an early warning system to support our ongoing efforts in continuing to protect the COVIDSafe environment, therefore a cautious approach is always taken when these detections are found,” a DHHS statement read.

“The Department of Health has increased wastewater testing in the area and will continue to monitor the situation closely.

“The unexpected detection may be due to someone who has had COVID-19 that is no longer infectious continuing to ‘shed’ the virus or it may be due to an active but undiagnosed infectious case.”

It comes after five new locally acquired cases were recorded on Saturday, with one new case detected in hotel quarantine.

Health Minister Martin Foley said three of the five were direct primary close contacts of existing cases, with two unlinked cases.

One case was a second child of a family, another was a household contact of a known case, with the third a previously identified close contact who works with a family member “of the first West Melbourne group”.

The two unlinked cases are from the same household.

COVID-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar said the first was a man from the northern suburbs of Melbourne who visited the Craigieburn Central shopping centre.

The second is his partner who is an employee of a large, Probuild construction site in the CBD.

That site was locked down on Friday night, with 170 people linked to the site now in lockdown.