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One third on COVID-risk trains notified

Liz HobdayAAP
Martin Foley says people may have been exposed to COVID on a train carrying an infected man.
Camera IconMartin Foley says people may have been exposed to COVID on a train carrying an infected man. Credit: AAP

Transport authorities have contacted just over a third of the people who were travelling on trains with Melbourne's latest coronavirus case.

Last Friday, the man travelled to and from the city on the Craigieburn line at the same time as AFL fans attending the Richmond-Geelong match.

The AFL sent text messages on Wednesday morning alerting all of the 54,857 people who attended the match, and members also received an email alert.

A week later, the department of transport says it has contacted 36 per cent of the passengers on both trains, which it says is all of those who were travelling using a registered myki card.

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The department was asked precisely how many people it has contacted, but has not provided a figure.

Victoria's Health Minister Martin Foley on Wednesday said a large number of people may have been exposed to COVID on the train or at the station.

He said authorities were checking through CCTV footage, but the department has not said how many people have been contacted using this method.

"We are working closely with the Department of Health and public transport operators to support the contact tracing efforts," a department of transport spokesperson told AAP.

Tony Morton from the Public Transport Users' Association says mykis are not a reliable way of tracking down travellers for contact tracing, but systems such as QR check-ins simply would not work on public transport.

"Despite all the advertising and publicity I'd say the rate at which people voluntarily register mykis is probably very low," he told AAP.

"It's obviously a wakeup call around mask wearing on public transport."

The Craigieburn to Southern Cross service between 5.28pm and 6.07pm last Friday has been listed as a tier two COVID exposure site, along with the Flinders St to Craigieburn service between 10.20pm and 11.05pm.

Craigieburn and Southern Cross stations last Friday night have also been listed as tier three exposure sites.

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