Statement regarding potential secondary contact at Warragul Depot

Published on 21 September 2021

We have this morning been informed that a Baw Baw Shire Council team member is a potential secondary close contact to a positive COVID case.

Their partner is a potential primary close contact due to working in a healthcare setting.

Both are fully vaccinated and neither have tested positive at this stage.

The team member has done the right thing and notified their manager as soon as being informed of their potential secondary contact status and taken immediate steps to get tested and to self-isolate.

The team member had some contact with 5 other team members at the Warragul Depot before becoming aware of their potential secondary close contact status.

Those contacts are three steps removed from a potential exposure, meaning risks are exceedingly low.

However, the safety of our team members and the wider community remains of utmost importance and to this end, the Warragul Depot will be closed temporarily to allow for a deep cleaning of the site.

Due to the numerous steps of removal from a primary contact, other team members at the Warragul Depot are not required to get tested or to isolate at this stage.

We are mindful that some of our team members, however, may have vulnerable family members or people close to them in their lives that are at higher risk. With that in mind all team members at the Warragul Depot are supported to get tested and to isolate if they choose. The temporary closure will also make it easier for them to do that.

We wish to commend the Depot Team for alerting us immediately to the situation, and proactively taking all the recommended precautionary steps. They’ve done exactly the right thing to look after themselves, our team and the community.