Ballarat Community Health is urging people to remain calm as new COVID-19 cases emerge in the city.
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While anyone with even slight symptoms should make an appointment for a test immediately, only people contacted by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services are considered close contacts.
So, if a business or community facility reports a positive case, there is no need for panic - the contact tracing team will quickly work out who needs to self-isolate and get a test.
According to the DHHS website, close contacts are defined as people who spent at least 15 minutes face-to-face with a confirmed case while they were infectious, or people who spent at least two hours in an enclosed space with a confirmed case while they were infectious.
Examples provided include living in the same household or similar setting like a boarding school or hostel, direct contact with body fluids or laboratory specimens of a confirmed case, being in the same room or office for more than two hours, or face-to-face contact in a car, lift, or public transport.
"If a person is a close contact, the Department of Health and Human Services will get in contact to tell them they are a close contact of a person who is confirmed to have coronavirus (COVID-19)," the website states.
"A close contact must quarantine at home. If the person is not at their home when they receive a notice to quarantine, the person must immediately and directly travel there without making stops."
Authorities and experts have repeatedly stated regional Victoria's strength in avoiding large numbers of new cases is in its local contact tracing teams.
This week the state government announced it would begin at-home testing as part of its Call To Test program.
A DHHS spokesperson said in a statement "we don't want chronic illness, disability or carer responsibilities to be a barrier to Victorians getting tested if they have symptoms - so we've started a Call to Test program to arrange in-home tests for people unable to leave their home to get tested".
"We're working closely with more than 60 regional health services to expand the program to regional Victoria," they added, though it's not known when, or if, the service will begin in Ballarat.
Ballarat Health Services was contacted for comment.
Remember to always maintain good hand hygiene, wear a mask when in public, and keep a 1.5 metre distance from others at all times.
Right now there are only four reasons to leave your home in Ballarat during stage three restrictions: care and caregiving, local exercise, shopping for necessary items, and for work or study if you are unable to do so from home.
Victoria Police are enforcing restrictions, and penalties apply.
Anyone with the slightest symptoms is urged to get a test immediately, and must self-isolate until results come back - phone 4311 1571 to make an appointment.
Testing in Ballarat is available at the Ballarat Respiratory Clinic on the corner of Merz Street and Eleanor Drive in Lucas, or the Community Health Respiratory Clinic at Ballarat Senior Citizens Centre, at 16 Little Bridge St, Ballarat.
For more information, visit the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services website, or phone the hotline on 1800 675 398 for advice if you are displaying symptoms.
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