WYCHEPROOF’S Bakery on Broadway will rise again after a COVID-19 scare.
Staff, customers and townspeople were sent into 14 days’ isolation on Sunday night after a Mildura man who tested positive to COVID-19 visited the store on July 11.
The Department of Health and Human Services listed the bakery as a tier 1 exposure site between 2pm and 3pm on July 11, but this was downgraded two days later to tier 2, meaning anyone exposed was required to get tested immediately and self-isolate until receiving a negative result.
The Mildura man tested positive on July 18, a week after contracting the Delta variant of the disease at the MCG.
“It was Sunday and we were watching Ali Cupper on Facebook (speaking about the positive case in Mildura) and went to get washing outside,” bakery co-owner Ann Durie said.
“Then I received a call from Buloke Shire’s chief executive late Sunday night notifying us of the exposure.”
Ms Durie said as much as the call came as shock, many staff had expected it.
“We knew that a positive case had gone from Melbourne to Mildura,” she said.
“We were thinking that he might have stopped by.”
Ms Durie said the bakery had remained closed since July 15.
“We were feeling a bit anxious at the time,” she said.
“Then we saw it on Facebook and everyone was texting, sending messages to us.”
At least 24 customers were at the bakery when the man visited.
None of the five staff working at the time felt sick and all returned negative tests.
Ms Durie said there was relief when the bakery was downgraded to a tier 2 site.
“It meant we could get tested, get a negative result, then get back into the community,” she said.
“When we get the COVID clean done, we can open the shop.
“If it was tier 1, it could have costed up to $10,000 to do the clean as we would have needed to follow strict protocols.”
Ms Durie said all team members spent Monday self-isolating and being tested.
East Wimmera Health Service set up a drive-through testing site at its Wycheproof campus for three days to meet demand in the town and from Sea Lake and Ouyen.
Ms Durie believes the Mildura outbreak could be a wake-up call for many regional Victorians.
“It’s taught those who are complacent to really think about what they do with their businesses,” Ms Durie said.
“I had a call from the doctor, who said numbers were dropping off at the COVID vaccine clinic, but since the scare for the town the clinic has been very busy.
“In one sense, it’s been a good thing, but not great for people who suffer anxiety.
“It’s made everyone aware of how vulnerable small towns are, especially for us being the halfway stop for Melbourne- to-Mildura people.
“We are open seven days a week and it’s a natural stop with delicious food and coffee.”
Ms Durie said staff weren’t afraid to tell customers to wear a mask.
“We have a strict mask-wearing policy and, if a customer doesn’t have one, we send them back to their cars to get one.
“It’s a pain but it’s important and we have the QR codes and sign-ins.
“With a small town like this, if someone does test positive, it would go through the town very easily, especially when you have an older population.”
Ms Durie said the business had been flooded with kind and positive messages.
“We have had amazing support from the local community and people who come to our bakery regularly,” she said.
“People have been so supportive and they understand what the business has done for the town and there have just been some lovely messages to all the staff and it’s very lovely and feels really good.
“We’ve had people dropping off food to staff members, alcohol and wood.”
Ms Durie was touched by the generosity of one Bendigo supplier.
“Bendigo Brittle sent an email to say sorry to hear we were a tier 1 site,” she said.
“Before the news of us, I just got an order in for $1000 worth of supplies.
“They were happy to send the money back to us until we were able to get back on our feet — it was so generous.”
Ms Durie has co-owned the bakery with four couples for the past five years.
