At least three doctors from Melbourne are in intensive care tonight and suffering from COVID-19. One is a young doctor in the Northern Hospital emergency department.
It is suspected he acquired the virus while working with COVID-19 patients in a screening facility.
One doctor who is affected is a GP in his 60s, now in Royal Melbourne Hospital.
A scientist was also hospitalised in her 30s. Several doctors have alerted 9News that there was worried transmission taking place in hospitals, and that it would get worse.
In total, 614 healthcare employees are now fighting COVID-19. Among them are six nurses at St Vincent ‘s Hospital, who tested positive for the virus.
Dr Brett Sutton, chief health officer of Victoria is concerned that personal protective equipment ( PPE) will not stop the outbreak.
“Transmission, within workplaces, is a risk,” he said.
Yet a new procedure bolsters the response at St Vincent’s, where swabs from suspected COVID-19 patients can be tested within an hour from the intensive care unit.