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A resident of the Villa Maria aged care facility in Bundoora is being isolated in their room after testing positive for coronavirus, while a dozen McDonald’s restaurants across Melbourne’s north have been closed.

A resident of an aged care home in Melbourne’s north-east is among Victoria’s latest coronavirus cases, health authorities have confirmed.
Key points:

  • Residents of the Villa Maria aged care home in Bundoora are being tested for coronavirus
  • Health authorities said the resident diagnosed with COVID-19 was being isolated and “well cared for”
  • Meanwhile, 12 McDonald’s restaurants across Melbourne’s north and west have been closed for a “deep clean”

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said the resident at Bundoora’s Villa Maria aged care facility was being “well cared for” and isolated in their room.
“Comprehensive contact tracing is underway and testing of all staff and residents will take place over the coming days,” the department said in a statement.
“Residents and families are all being informed, and the department is working closely with the facility to ensure appropriate public health actions have been taken, including isolation, quarantine and cleaning.”
Villa Maria Catholic Homes (VMCH) claimed the resident’s test over the weekend came back as “inconclusive”, but that all such tests were being treated by the DHHS as positive.
“As a result, the entire residence is now in lockdown until the Public Health Unit advises us this can end,” VMCH said in a statement.
The group said the resident was admitted to hospital with a temperature of 39 degrees Celsius, but had since returned to the home and was not displaying any symptoms.
“Further testing has produced a negative result, however the Department of Health are taking precautionary measures and have requested two more negative test results, to be undertaken 48 hours apart,” VMCH said.
“Staff who have had close contact with the person are in self-isolation at home. All other staff are being tested for COVID-19.
“Should any signs of illhealth appear, we will seek medical attention immediately.”
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It comes as a dozen McDonald’s restaurants across Melbourne’s north and west have been closed and hundreds of workers asked to self-isolate after a delivery driver tested positive for coronavirus.
Health authorities believe the driver was a close contact of an employee at the Craigieburn McDonald’s who tested positive last week.
The fast-food chain says the restaurants were closed out of an “abundance of caution” and that no further employees have tested positive.
Twelve coronavirus cases have been linked to the Fawkner McDonald’s outlet.(ABC News: Darryl Torpy)
Victoria announced six new cases of coronavirus this morning, including two close contacts of cases in a cluster linked to the Fawkner McDonald’s, and three cases in hotel quarantine.
The Fawkner McDonald’s outlet has now been linked to 12 cases.
McDonald’s Australia chief executive Andrew Gregory told ABC Radio Melbourne the driver’s positive test was confirmed “as late as yesterday afternoon” and the 12 restaurants were closed within hours of the company being told.
Victoria COVID-19 snapshot

  • Confirmed cases so far: 1567
  • Recovered patients: 1,439
  • Deaths: 18
  • Suspected cases of community transmission: 161
  • Cases in hospital: 9
  • Intensive care patients: 5
  • Tests: More than 345,000

Updated Monday, May 18
Latest information from the Victorian Government
“Its going to impact about 1,000 staff,” he said.
Most of these workers are expected to return to work as the restaurants reopen in coming days with about 200, who were working during the deliveries or afterwards, asked to stay at home for two weeks.
The outlet at Craigieburn was closed on Friday for cleaning after an employee a relative of one of the cases linked to the Fawkner outlet tested positive.
A McDonald’s spokesperson confirmed the restaurant closures on Monday morning.
“McDonald’s Australia confirms no other employees have tested positive for COVID-19 at this time,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
“However, out of an abundance of caution, we have made the decision to close and conduct a deep clean of 12 restaurants in Victoria, following confirmation a truck driver for an external service provider has tested positive for COVID-19.
The Laverton North McDonald’s restaurant is among those temporarily closed after a delivery driver tested positive to coronavirus.(ABC News: Stephanie Ferrier)
“The truck driver made deliveries to 12 restaurants and interacted with a small number of restaurant employees on each occasion while asymptomatic and unaware they had contracted COVID-19.”
Potential close contacts and employees who worked shifts during and after the driver’s deliveries had been told not to return to work for 14 days and to get tested, the spokesperson said.
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“The Department of Health has identified the truck driver as a workplace close contact of the previously announced Craigieburn COVID-19 case.”
The spokesperson said McDonald’s would reopen each of the restaurants after the deep cleans were completed and when replacement workers were available.
The closed restaurants are:

  • Melton East
  • Laverton North
  • Yallambie
  • Taylors Lakes
  • Campbellfield
  • Sunbury
  • Hoppers Crossing
  • Riverdale Village
  • Sandown
  • Calder Highway Northbound/Outbound
  • Calder Highway Southbound/Inbound
  • BP Rockbank Service Centre Outbound

Premier says outbreak a ‘really big concern’
Premier Daniel Andrews told Channel Nine this morning any outbreak, particularly one involving a case with no symptoms, was “obviously a really big concern”.
He said the McDonald’s cluster highlighted how rapidly the virus spread and why testing was so important.
Cedar Meats Australia took the temperature of staff members returning to work on Monday morning.(ABC News)
“We’re going to see more of these outbreaks,” Mr Andrews said.
“The Prime Minister has made that clear.
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“I’ve made the point that it’s going to be part of this virus as it presents in the weeks and months to come and that’s why we’ve all boosted our teams right across the country to be able to track, trace and respond really quickly to outbreaks.”
The Premier added that the state’s public health team were “very confident” about today’s reopening of Cedar Meats’ Brooklyn abattoir, which has been linked to 100 cases.
Cedar Meats Australia in Brooklyn has implemented strict rules for staff and visitors after an outbreak at the abattoir.(ABC News: Patrick Rocca)
“I think there’s about 20 staff going back in there,” he said.
“They’re working in one particular part of that business in the cold storage part of that business.
“That’s a significant outbreak but one that the Chief Medical Officer, Brendan Murphy, has made clear has been handled very well by the public health team.”
Single case closes two Melbourne businesses
Meanwhile, a Domino’s restaurant in Fairfield and a mattress and foam manufacturer in Deer Park were closed on Friday after man who worked at both businesses tested positive to coronavirus.
A spokesperson for the pizza chain said in a statement the employee last worked at the Fairfield restaurant on May 8 and was asymptomatic at the time.
The store was undergoing a “full environmental clean” and would be reopened on May 23, the statement said.
“Upon being notified of the positive test result, Dominos immediately closed this store, notified all Fairfield store team members and their families, and recommended everyone self-isolate and seek testing,” it said.
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Comfort Group chief executive Peter Mullin said the same man worked at the company’s Deer Park manufacturing facility.
Mr Mullin said the employee began suffering cold-like symptoms and got tested the weekend of May 9 and 10 and had not been to work since.
The factory was shut on Friday after the test results came back on Thursday night.
Mr Mullin said the facility was being deep-cleaned over the weekend and would remain closed until Wednesday.
About 200 people who had been at the factory since April 10 were being tested, he added.
“We’ve been implementing stringent practices and distancing protocols including segregated meal break breaks and separating workers,” he said.
The company had identified only three people who would be classified as “close contacts” of the infected employee and two of them had already tested negative, he added.
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