Search

Placeholder Content Image

Sewage find sends Victoria into COVID high alert

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fragments of Coronavirus have been found in a number of wastewater samples in Victoria.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In a statement on Wednesday, April 29, Victoria’s health department said COVID-19 fragments had been found in the state’s eastern, western, north-western and outer northern suburbs.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Given the current prolonged period of no community transmission in Victoria, it is most likely that this is due to a person or persons continuing to shed the virus after the infection period however, it could also be due to a person living in or travelling through the area in the early active infectious phase,” the department said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The wastewater testing program is designed to be an early warning system to support our ongoing efforts in continuing to protect the CovidSafe environment we have achieved and therefore a cautious approach is always taken when these detections are found.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The department advised that “people who live in or have visited these areas who have or develop Covid symptoms are strongly encouraged to get tested and help keep Victoria communities Covid free.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL5jMkirURT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CL5jMkirURT/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Victorian Department of Health (@vicgovdh)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The fragments were detected in samples taken from various suburbs between April 17 and April 26.</span></p> <p><strong>Suburbs impacted by new COVID alert</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>Western suburbs catchment from April 18 to 26</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> include Albanvale, Burnside, Burnside Heights, Cairnlea, Caroline Springs, Deer Park, Delahey, Hillside (Melton), Keilor Downs, Kings Park, Plumpton, Ravenhall, Sydenham, Taylors Hill and Taylors Lakes</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>North-western suburbs catchment from April 18 to 26</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> include Avondale Heights, Calder Park, Hillside (Melton), Kealba, Keilor, Keilor Downs, Keilor East, Keilor Lodge, Keilor North, Keilor Park, Sydenham, and Taylors Lakes</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>Eastern suburbs catchment from April 20 to 24</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> include Balwyn, Balwyn North, Blackburn, Blackburn North, Box Hill, Box Hill North, Bulleen, Doncaster, Doncaster East, Donvale, Mitcham, Mont Albert, Mont Albert North, Nunawading, and Templestowe Lower</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><strong>Outer northern suburbs catchment from April 17 to 22</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> include Epping, South Morang, and Wollert  </span></li> </ul>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Millions of Aussie residents on high alert after new COVID-19 discovery

<p>Millions of Melburnians are being urged to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 after viral fragments were detected in a "large wastewater catchment" that services the city's northern, western and eastern suburbs.</p> <p>Over five million people live in Melbourne and around three million of those reside in those areas.</p> <p>Traces of COVID-19 have also been detected in another wastewater catchment in Melbourne's southeast.</p> <p>The Department of Health released a statement saying the "unexpected detections" could be due to a person or persons with the virus being in the early active infectious phase.</p> <p>Or it could be because they were continuing to shed the virus after the infectious period, they said.</p> <p>“While it is possible that these detections are due to a visitor or visitors to these areas who are not infectious, a cautious approach is being taken,” the statement read.</p> <p>People who live in or have visited the following areas should monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested if any develop:</p> <ul class="ul1"> <li class="li1">North, west and eastern suburbs from 4 to 12 April. This detection is in a very large catchment that services suburbs stretching from Melbourne’s northwest to the outer northeast.</li> <li class="li1">Cranbourne and surrounding suburbs from 6 to 12 April</li> </ul> <p>The two new detections come after people residing in 16 suburbs were issued a warning earlier in the week about similar wastewater discoveries.</p> <p>“Coronavirus fragments have been detected in wastewater from the Ringwood area,” the Victorian Department of Health said in a statement just before 6 pm on Tuesday.</p> <p>The east Melbourne suburbs affected include Bayswater, Bayswater North, Boronia, Croydon, Croydon North, Croydon South, Heathmont, Kilsyth, Kilsyth South, Montrose, Ringwood, Ringwood East, Sassafras, The Basin, Tremont and Wantirna.</p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

Victoria back on high alert after coronavirus fragments found in wastewater

<p>Victorian health authorities are on high alert after coronavirus fragments were found in sewage in an area where there are no active cases.</p> <p>Wastewater testing has revealed viral fragments of COVID-19 in Wantirna South and Boronia on February 15 and Carrum Downs, Langwarrin, St Kilda, Caulfield and Caulfield North on February 16.</p> <p>The suburbs are located on the east and southeast of the CBD, whereas all active cases are currently within the western suburbs apart from one person in Greater Dandenong.</p> <p>The health department said the wastewater samples had “weak detections” of viral fragments.</p> <p>Anyone who has any symptoms of COVID-19 and lives in or has visited the areas below during the following times has been urged to get tested:</p> <ul> <li class="li1">Wantirna South or Boronia from February 13 to 15, including parts of Bayswater, Ferntree Gully, Knoxfield and Tremont;</li> <li class="li1">Carrum Downs or Langwarrin from February 13 to 16, including parts of Skye;</li> <li class="li1">St Kilda East or Caulfield North from February 13 to 16, including parts of Balaclava, Caulfield and Elsternwick.</li> </ul> <p>The detections come as Victoria recorded two straight days of zero locally acquired cases.</p> <p>The health department said the number of active cases remained at 25, made up of 17 locally acquired cases and eight cases in hotel quarantine.</p> <p>The active local cases reside in Moreland, Brimbank, Hume, Greater Dandenong, Moonee Valley and Wyndham local government areas.</p>

News

Placeholder Content Image

"Horrified" locals share "disgusting" changes in swimming spot

<p>South Auckland locals are "horrified" by their local swimming spot that has been forced to close due to an increase in E.coli bacteria.</p> <p>According to<span> </span><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/new-zealand/2021/01/waiuku-locals-disgusted-after-waitangi-falls-closed-over-faeces-e-coli-pollution.html" target="_blank"><em>NewsHub</em></a><em>,<span> </span></em>the popular swimming spot at Waitangi Falls in Waiuku is so full of both animal and human faeces that residents have been avoiding the spot all summer.</p> <p>The smell coming from the once-popular swimming spot has is enough for people to stay far away.</p> <p>"It's horrifying, it's rubbish," one person says.</p> <p>"I wouldn't even go closer than I am now," another adds.</p> <p>"I'm just absolutely horrified, I'm disgusted that you come down for a swim and this is what you're greeted with. It's soul-destroying," a third agreed.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">'It's horrifying': Waiuku locals disgusted after popular Waitangi Falls closed over faeces, E.coli pollution <a href="https://t.co/ZIRHyZNcJc">https://t.co/ZIRHyZNcJc</a></p> — Newshub (@NewshubNZ) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewshubNZ/status/1355790427102666757?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 31, 2021</a></blockquote> <p>Resident Dorothy Hoskins has said that the council should've acted sooner.</p> <p>"We need action. Seven days have gone now, seven days of literally shit pouring into the Manukau Harbour - this is a beautiful harbour, people live on this harbour. Something needs to be done and needs to be done now," she says.</p> <p>In a statement, the Council says its pollution response team is "monitoring levels and will continue to do so until water quality is back to normal".</p> <p>"The cause of this pollution is now under investigation," it added.</p> <p>But locals say something needs to be done now to clean it.</p> <p>"We have to act," Hoskins says.</p>

Travel Trouble

Placeholder Content Image

What happens to your poop on a cruise ship?

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Each year tens of millions of people around the world sail away by boat to their cruise destinations. Not many people know what happens when they flush the toilet though. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you’re one of the many people who cruise every year then you should know what happens each time you flush the toilet. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It is easy to assume the sewage is just dumped out straight into the ocean, even kept below deck in septic tanks to be released somewhere else or even left until we get off the boat at the end of our holiday. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, the answer isn’t far off. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not so long ago, cruise passengers’ remnants were thrown overboard through “storm valves” attached to the ship. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These days, cruise lines must follow strict international maritime laws which requires vessels to be three nautical miles (5km) away from land before letting go of treated sewage, according to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollutions from ships via MARPOL (Marine Pollution). </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The environmental manager for Carnival Cruise Lines, Natalia Vecchione told </span><a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-ideas/cruises/what-really-happens-to-your-poo-when-staying-on-a-cruise-ship/news-story/c4f45391a07a51863efc3d5633d51c8e"><span style="font-weight: 400;">news.com.au</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that each ship has a wastewater treatment system as well as an environmental officer on-board to make sure all matters run smoothly. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">So, while it may seem like the answer to where our bodily fluids go on a cruise ship is difficult, it actually turns out it is not all that different to our home sewage systems. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“When you flush the toilet, the wastewater is sent to the wastewater treatment systems on-board. The systems on-board treat the wastewater similarly to how it is treated on land. It goes through a multistage process including biological treatment and disinfection,” Ms Vecchione explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Also, the treatment units are designed and approved to stringent International Maritime Organisation standards and they’re installed and operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s rigorous instructions and procedures.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">To put it more simply, when a passenger or staff member flushes the loo, all the sewage goes directly to the treatment plan on the ship, which treats and disinfects it until it is safe to drink and pump it back into the ocean – far, far away from dry land. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Ms Vecchione said Carnival Cruise Lines goes the distance, choosing to dump their sewage 12 nautical miles (22km) away rather than the expected three nautical miles. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Once treated, when the ship is far enough from land, the treated water is discharged. And, once it’s discharged, the sea water one metre behind a ship is chemically indistinguishable from the water one metre in front of the ship,” Ms Vecchione said.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Respecting and protecting the waters we sail in and the environment of the destinations we visit goes beyond being an operating necessity, it is also the right thing to do.”</span></p>

Cruising

Our Partners

Over 60

© Copyright 2024 OverSixty.All Rights Reserved.