New deadly Delta variant identified in Victoria and 4 cases travelled to NSW

A new variant of COVID-19 has been identified in Melbourne's outbreak, with the new strain not linked to any of the cases in the state’s current outbreak.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said it was the Delta strain, B1617.2, which has ravaged India and is now spreading through the UK as well.

“It is a variant of significant concern. The fact that it is a variant different to other cases it means it is not related, in terms of transmission, with these cases,” chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton said.

“It has not been linked to any sequence cases across Australia from hotel quarantine or anywhere else that it is not linked in Victoria or any other jurisdiction.”

Professor Sutton said the original infected family had travelled to Jervis Bay in New South Wales and Victorian health authorities were working with their NSW and ACT counterparts. 

The deadly new Delta variant on the loose in Victoria travelled to NSW, with Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton warning “it is within the bounds of possibility” it could have originated there while the family holidayed in Jervis Bay.  It’s worth noting that NSW has reported no new cases of community transmission in some time. 

“It is not unexpected. The average incubation time of (Covid-19) is about six days. There will be individuals who go through a much more rapid transmission cycle, there will be a longer one,” he said.

“Five or six days puts it in New South Wales, Jervis Bay territory, or indeed earlier.”

There are now seven cases of this new variant in the West Melbourne cluster

our of the cases identified as the new Delta variant are part of a family, made up of two adults and two children, who travelled to NSW’s Jervis Bay.

The other three cases are linked to another family made up of two parents and a child. Authorities are waiting on the test result from a fourth child in that family.

More than 300 primary close contacts have been linked to this cluster through the North Melbourne primary school community.

Authorities are rushing to find the source of the outbreak, with officials refusing the rule out the virus could have originated in NSW or regional Victoria.

Professor Sutton said the Delta variant had a “very high transmission potential”.

“It spread extremely rapidly across India to become the predominant variant, almost the exclusive variant there,” he said.