Portland is riding a coronavirus second-wave high after its active cases were slashed by two-thirds on Tuesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Portland had 15 active cases on Monday after another positive test in the second cluster and the city was on edge waiting for more close contact results.
But, there were no new positive cases on Tuesday and the original cluster is now understood to be clear of COVID-19.
Portland District Health chief executive officer Christine Giles welcomed news about the first cluster, which was sparked by a Melbourne woman returning to Portland to look after an elderly parent.
She said she understood there was still someone in Warrnambool Base Hospital from the first cluster, but that person was receiving care for reasons other than coronavirus.
The first cluster involved eight cases and resulted in the death of a man in his 50s two weeks ago.
The second cluster was sparked after Portland man Kane Kennett, 24, received a positive test result on Sunday last week.
That led to nine new cases in seven days.
Mr Kennett announced on Facebook on Tuesday he had now been cleared of coronavirus and was out of isolation.
It's believed he was initially exposed to the virus on July 24 when he was in Geelong.
A family spokeswoman said on Tuesday night that four family members had now been cleared and received their paperwork from health authorities - Mr Kennett, his mother, her sister and Mr Kennett's girlfriend.
It's now believed there are just five active coronavirus cases in Portland.
The Kennett family took to Facebook early this week to say they had tested positive to COVID-19 so their close contacts could get tested.
"It was a very bold decision, we wanted to do the right thing so people could be tested and so this outbreak could be contained," the family spokeswoman said.
"We would encourage anyone who tests positive to do exactly what we did - be open and honest, for the sake of the whole community," she said.
"We just want to thank Chris Giles and the team at the Portland hospital for their outstanding support," she said.
Ms Giles said she had double checked and believed the second cluster index case (Ms Kennett) had been cleared by health authorities.
"I'm very happy, but it's not completely over. We are still waiting on close contact test results from the second cluster," she said.
"Those close contacts are all in quarantine and things are generally looking pretty optimistic.
"So far so good, but we need to go through the process and everyone needs to keep doing the right thing.
"It's looking like we may have dodged a bullet with the second cluster," she said.
Have you signed up to The Standard's daily newsletter and breaking news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in the south-west.
