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headline

Victoria records first case of measles in more than two years

The first case of measles in more than two years has been recorded in Victoria.

A woman in her 30s has been diagnosed with the highly infectious viral disease after returning from an overseas trip.

She developed symptoms on Sunday, June 12 while she was in New South Wales, according to the Victorian Department of Health.

READ MORE: Man goes to police after young woman seriously injured in hit-and-run

As a precaution, four locations the woman visited in Victoria and New South Wales have been deemed as public exposure sites.

Anyone who visited the Culcairn Ampol Station on the Olympic Highway in NSW between 12-12.35pm on Sunday or the Astor Hotel in Albury between 12.30-3pm on Sunday should monitor for symptoms.

People who were at Geelong's Justin Lane restaurant between 12.30-3pm on Monday or in the food court at DFO Southwharf in Melbourne between 12.20-1.05pm on Tuesday are also advised to be vigilant for measles symptoms.

The illness usually begins with common cold symptoms such as runny nose, red eyes and a cough, followed by fever and a rash.

The characteristic measles rash usually begins 3-7 days after the first symptoms, generally starting on the face and then spreading to the rest of the body.

People with measles can develop pneumonia and other serious complications from the disease, and often need to be hospitalised.

This is the first case of measles in Victoria since March 2020, with previous cases of the disease in the state seen in people who are not fully immunised and who have travelled overseas or been in contact with returned international travellers.

headline

Lynette Dawson detective did not take statements from key witnesses

The former lead detective on Lynette Dawson's disappearance has admitted he failed to take statements from critical witnesses, including people who claimed to have seen the missing mother alive.

Giving evidence in the NSW Supreme Court, Damian Loone denied ignoring the evidence because he believed Chris Dawson had murdered his wife.

Loone handled the investigation for almost two decades.

READ MORE: Dawson 'asked teammate' if he knew anyone who could 'get rid of' wife

Chris and Lynette Dawson.

After taking over the case in 1998, he read transcripts of an old police interview with Chris Dawson and immediately suspected something grave had happened to Lynette, who had vanished 16 years earlier.

Loone today admitted he approached the case as a homicide from the beginning.

He conceded he failed to take statements from Lynette's mother Helena Simms and others from the Northbridge Baths who remembered Dawson receiving a phone call, which he claimed was his wife saying she needed a few days away.

Loone also acknowledged nothing was formalised after talking to Bayview residents Peter and Jillian Breeze, who reported seeing the missing nurse at Rock Castle Hospital in 1984, two years after she had disappeared.

With the benefit of hindsight, the retired policeman said he should have followed those leads but denied it was deliberate because it didn't support his theory that the mother-of-two had been killed.

Dawson's legal team again pointed the finger at his schoolgirl lover as having a motive, which the seasoned detective disagreed with.

Dawson has pleaded not guilty to murder, maintaining his wife left of her own free will and never returned.

https://twitter.com/tiffgenders/status/1537674434567254016

The trial continues.