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Regional Businesses Close After 'Selfish' Melbourne Woman Went On Day Trip

Regional Businesses Close After 'Selfish' Melbourne Woman Went On Day Trip

The 25-year-old breached lockdown to go to East Gippsland while she was waiting for her Covid test results. She ended up testing positive.

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie

At least a dozen regional businesses have been forced to close after a Melbourne woman went on a day trip to the region.

Not only was the 25-year-old breaching restrictions when she travelled from her property within the city's lockdown area to East Gippsland, but she also did it while awaiting results from a Covid-19 test.

She ended up testing positive.

The woman's actions have also led to a police officer having to go into self-isolation after potentially coming into contact with her.

Channel 9

Victoria Police released a statement to The Age, saying: "Victoria Police will work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services as they conduct contact tracing to determine whether anyone else was in casual or close contact with this employee.

"There has been no impact on the Orbost police station and associated service delivery."

People who get a Covid-19 test are told to go straight home and await their results in case they are infectious. They aren't allowed to leave their homes until they get a result back.

However, this 25-year-old woman, who is originally from the region, travelled to East Gippsland just before the weekend after getting a test done. It's not a short journey either, taking around four hours or 356kms to get there from Melbourne.

It wasn't until Monday evening that she received her results back that indicated she was positive for the coronavirus.

Channel 9

Having spent the weekend visiting different venues, these establishments have now shut for deep cleaning and test results. East Gippsland MP Tim Bull has told Channel 9 the woman's actions were 'completely inappropriate'.

The Age reports that two pubs, a Chinese restaurant, a cafe and a hairdresser are among the businesses that have closed down in two towns the woman visited.

The owner of Orbost Club Hotel, which was forced to close for five days after some staff came into contact with the woman, described her as a 'silly, selfish so and so'.

Orbost and District Chamber of Commerce and Industry secretary Garry Squires told the newspaper that an incident like this will devastate the region.

"Our town has suffered some really difficult times over the last couple of years. We've had drought. We've had bushfires which stopped our summer trade," Mr Squires said.

The woman has subsequently been fined $1,652 for breaching lockdown.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews slammed the actions of the woman and encouraged everyone to stay at home if they are having tests done.

He said: "Whether you had a test result coming or not, there's no need to be going to the far east of the state for instance."

Featured Image Credit: Channel 9

Topics: News, Coronavirus, Australia