By Cam Lucadou-Wells
A Greater Dandenong councillor went into brief isolation after his milk bar in Springvale South was named as a Tier 2 Covid site on Sunday night, 22 August.
Cr Loi Truong says the first time he heard of the listing of his shop in Darren Street was a phone call from a friend.
According to the Department of Health, an infected person visited the shop on Wednesday 16 August between 11:35am-11:50am.
Following the department’s Tier 2 advice, Cr Truong got a Covid test at Springers Leisure Centre the next day.
He remained in isolation and closed his store until he received a negative test result on Tuesday 24 August, he said.
Cr Truong, who re-opened his store by 11am, guessed that his store was visited by an infected customer.
But he had not been contacted by the Department of Health to explain the listing.
Since last year, Cr Truong has given out 31,000 re-useable cotton masks at the shop.
Demand for the free masks has slowed in recent times, but Cr Truong still hands them out to the occasional customer who forgot their masks.
“If they don’t have a mask, I ask them to wear one.”
Customers have been scarce during Covid lockdowns, with trade down about a third, he said.
He and his family are biding their time before they get Covid-vaccinated. They’re waiting for the Moderna vaccine in September because of its 94 per cent effectiveness, Cr Truong said.
As of 24 August, 15 sites in Greater Dandenong were listed as Tier 2 exposure sites.
For updates and more information on exposure sites, go to coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites
