Sharing a cigarette lighter may have sparked a COVID-19 outbreak in Australia

The seemingly innocent act of sharing a cigarette lighter may be to blame for a COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne, according to Australian officials.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews revealed on Sunday that one of the cases from a known outbreak was traced to the staff at Melbourne’s Stamford Plaza hotel, which is also acting as a quarantine hotel for returning travellers. “You can never be certain but there also seems to have been some likelihood that some carpooling arrangements between staff may well have meant that they were in closer contact than you would like,” Andrews said.The state of Victoria is experiencing a surge in infections after recording its highest single-day spike in coronavirus cases in almost three months, adding to concern about community transmission.Of the 49 new cases reported on Sunday, four are from known outbreaks, 26 were detected through routine testing and the other 19 are under investigation.Andrews said the state will consider potential stay-at-home orders and suburban lockdowns to contain these clusters and will also increase restrictions for returning travellers as a precaution.”You will never deliver a risk-free model, whether it be hotel-based, home-based, doesn’t matter how you do it,” Andrews said.

Read more at: https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/coronavirus/sharing-a-cigarette-lighter-may-have-sparked-a-covid-19-outbreak-in-australia-1.5003305

Share / Partager