A Wangaratta coffee shop closed on Thursday after a new staff member had unknowingly been at a COVID exposure site.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Treats Coffee Shop in Post Office Arcade on Murphy Street had not been instructed by the Victorian Health Department to close, but made the decision as a precaution after the staff member was asked to get tested and isolate on Thursday.
The worker had been at Flagpole Cafe to return her uniform before she started at Treats and worked lunchtime shifts on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Owner Lauren McCully said the past two days had been a whirlwind and hopes to reopen on Monday.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"The poor staff member was beside herself because she literally started with us this week," Ms McCully said.
"Because she came to work for us on Tuesday and Wednesday, out of an abundance of caution for our community, my staff and also myself, as I have underlying medical conditions and children who do as well, we immediately closed on Thursday and sent all our staff to be tested and isolate.
"We really needed to get on the front foot because the exposure was real."
Fellow Wangaratta business Bosch's Edwards Street Butchers had three staff impacted by a COVID-positive delivery driver and will remain closed until negative results have been returned.
"We've taken the precautionary steps in the interest of community safety to stop the spread," owner Brenton Bosch said.
Albury Wodonga Health confirmed yesterday one Sydney driver visited various restaurants across the North East, including Wodonga Rothman Alljoy Chinese Restaurant, which was deemed a tier two exposure site, but is set to reopen on Wednesday.
But it was "highly unlikely" others such as Wodonga Chinese eatery, Lee Corner Restaurant, would be listed as public exposure sites because of the minimal amount of time the driver was there.
"The key difference (with Alljoy) is that the person was in the building for a period of time, as opposed to making a delivery at the backdoor for example," Albury Wodonga Health public health director Lucie Shanahan said.
A deep clean must be undertaken by the business owner before an exposure site can reopen.
The owner is provided with cleaning guidelines from Victoria's health department, and once complete, a certificate of cleaning is provided back to the local public health unit of that region.
For a tier two exposure, the certificate is reviewed by the medical lead, (public health physician for Albury-Wodonga Health), while tier one sites are overseen by an occupational physician.
Victoria's infection prevention control advice response team only attends for more than 10 infections.
- Bookmark
- Make sure you are signed up for our breaking and regular headlines newsletters
- Follow us on Twitter: @bordermail
- Follow us on Instagram @bordermail
- Follow us on Google News