Tara Murray
A shop at Watergardens Shopping Centre has temporarily closed its doors after being identified as a high risk COVID-19 exposure site.
Off Ya Tree was named as one of three high risk sites visited by a hotel quarantine worker who tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday.
Watergardens centre manager Joe Galea confirmed the woman, who worked at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport, had visited Off Ya Tree at the weekend.
He said the retailer was working with the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).
“It can’t be overstated how seriously we take this notification and our responsibility in helping keep our community safe, which is why we are doing everything we can to help protect the wellbeing of those that visit and work at the centre,” Mr Galea said.
“On receiving the notification, Off Ya Tree has made the decision to temporarily close their store until further notice in order to undertake a deep clean of the space with high-grade disinfectant.
“Off Ya Tree has also identified the staff that may have been in contact with the infected person and asked them to immediately self-isolate and get tested.
“DHHS will be taking steps to understand who may have been in recent contact with the person who tested positive, and we understand they will be making direct contact with those identified.”
Mr Galea said the deep clean was on top of the centre’s already robust cleaning procedures, which adhere to the guidelines set by the federal government’s Environmental Cleaning and Disinfection for COVID-19 principles.
He said that at this stage, it appeared that no other Watergardens retailers were visited by the hotel quarantine worker.
He said Watergardens continues to carry out a robust range of measures designed to help stop the spread of COVID-19 within the centre.
“We have maintained a comprehensive range of in-centre initiatives that are designed to help keep our community safe throughout this pandemic.
“We encourage anyone that is feeling unwell and suspects they may have symptoms of COVID-19 to self- isolate and seek medical attention as soon as possible.”
