But the solution has caused division among locals.
Safe injecting room richmond covid.
Furious residents living near melbourne s safe injecting room say roaming drug users are gathering en masse without face masks defecating in side streets and leaving used syringes outside homes.
The supervised injecting room in north richmond remains open past melbourne s 8pm curfew as drug users flock to the area while the city is under strict lockdown.
The supervised injecting room in north richmond has reported positive cases of covid 19 just weeks after residents voiced their anger at drug users flouting the rules.
North richmond safe injecting centre opens after mass overdose deaths in a small inner city suburb of melbourne drug use is rampant and flagrant.
With the high numbers of victorians losing their lives to drug related overdoses the medically supervised injecting room msir is a safety first medical approach focused on harm reduction.
North richmond has been the hub of victoria s heroin trade for two decades and a safe injecting room was recommended by the coroner after a spate of drug related deaths in the area.
The medically supervised safe injecting room s two year trial came to an end this week but an independent review finalised in june found the north richmond trial remains a work in progress.
An outreach worker linked to a medically supervised safe injecting room in melbourne s inner east is among a group of people now charged with trafficking the drug heroin.
The service was established for an initial two year trial period which will be extended for a further three years based on the evidence gathered in the initial period.