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"A Covid-positive person attended Wednesday&rsquo;s tradie protest in Melbourne, stoking fears the rally may become a superspreader event. The man, who tested positive on Thursday, was in hospital but not in intensive care, health authorities confirmed. The positive case has not yet been listed on the state&rsquo;s public exposure list. On Thursday afternoon, the state&rsquo;s health department confirmed a positive case attended the rally, as authorities attempted to trace the new infection. &ldquo;We are urging protesters to get tested should they experience Covid-like symptoms, no matter how mild,&rdquo; a spokesperson said. The new vase will be included in Friday&rsquo;s update. Thousands of people stormed the city this week protesting mandatory vaccines and the state&rsquo;s restrictions on the construction industry. Over three days, violent protesters took over the West Gate Bridge and the Shrine of Remembrance, disrupting traffic, trashing property and screaming profanities. Footage of the protests shows dozens of people not wearing masks or social distancing, all in direct opposition of the chief health officer&rsquo;s directions. Authorities and epidemiologists relayed concern that the protests could potentially worsen the state&rsquo;s outbreak, which reached 766 cases on Thursday. Police Commissioner Shane Patton on Wednesday said the planned rally was an &ldquo;illegal gathering&rdquo; and police were doing all they could to prevent a &ldquo;potential super spreader event&rdquo;. Epidemiologist Catherine Bennett told the ABC she was concerned the virus could be spread at the protests. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t know where the virus is in the community, we&rsquo;re still finding new cases pop up in places,&rdquo; Professor Bennett said. &ldquo;The reality is even outdoors, you can see transmission &hellip; if people weren&rsquo;t conscious of the rules, weren&rsquo;t wearing masks, were too close together, then there is a very real risk of seeing transmission.&rdquo; Melbourne&rsquo;s streets remained quiet on Thursday, despite three days of violent protests, initially prompted by outrage from the construction sector towards the CFMEU over mandatory vaccinations. Hundreds of police officers patrolled the city in a bid to prevent further unrest, with a number of people arrested. Police and union officials have confirmed extremist and far-right groups took advantage of the demonstrations, which turned violent on Tuesday and Wednesday."
<https://www.pilbaranews.com.au/news/man-infected-with-covid-confirmed-to-have-attended-melbourne-tradie-protest-c-4050359>