NSW Covid update: 210 new Covid cases, with two-thirds aged under 40
NSW has recorded 210 new cases of Covid in the past 24 hours, with 138 of the new cases in people aged under 40. This comes as a freight company had 24 workers test positive.
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A freight company in southwest Sydney has become a Covid breeding ground with 24 workers testing positive.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said smaller businesses are seeing higher levels of transmission than larger businesses.
“On the logistics side we had one particular freight organisation where 24 workers have became positive,” he said.
“We need to make sure that in these smaller logistic organisations these owners understand the need for a strong Covid safe plan in the first instance, but then applying the Covid safe plan.”
This comes as NSW has recorded 210 new cases, with 81 in southwest Sydney and 72 in western Sydney.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the virus is still spreading in those areas through households.
Mr Hazzard said the Delta variant is “partial” to young people, with 138 of the new cases in people under 40.
“My message to younger people is please understand this is a virus that you can be susceptible to,” he said.
The high numbers are impacting the hospital system, with 198 people in hospital, 53 are in ICU and 27 are on ventilators, with 11 of the people in ICU aged under 40.
“That tells us that it’s an extremely serious disease and people are ending up in our hospitals in substantial numbers,” Mr Hazzard said.
Mr Hazzard said a man in his 60s, who died in southwest Sydney, did not reach out for care when he had the virus.
NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the nature of the business had authorities on high alert.
“It’s concerning when we’ve got companies that have interactions with deliveries to other businesses,” he said.
Dr McAnulty said delivery companies are a “great way” for the virus to spread.
“Twenty-four cases is a lot and it’s an example of just how infectious this virus can be.”
Despite spawning so many cases, NSW Health will not be releasing the name of the company to the public, telling The Sunday Telegraph it is not a “public facing” area of concern.
Mr Hazzard confirmed his department and police are investigating four staff including a paramedic, two nurses and another staff member, for allegedly attending last week’s protest.
“Can I just say how disappointed I was as the NSW Health Minister to hear that there had been, first of all the protest itself, but secondly that four Health staff would think it’s appropriate to go to such a demonstration,” he said.
“Obviously it’s a fine line isn’t it, people in a democracy are entitled to demonstrate legally but of course it wasn’t a legal demonstration.”
Any staff found to have attended the protests will face “appropriate disciplinary action”.
Mr Hazzard said these instances of people reaching out for help too late was happening mainly in the south west.
“What we are seeing, it’s a terrible situation, where families for a variety of reasons particularly from the southwest are not coming forward when one of their number is ill,” he said.
“Why is that happening? There’s a variety of reasons. One postulate that was put to me yesterday by people on the ground there is that people are worried about their income.”
Despite making up around two thirds of the new cases, young people have the lowest vaccination rates in NSW.
Less than 10 per cent of age groups under 30 are fully vaccinated, and only 10.15 per cent of 30-34-year-olds are double jabbed.
“At this moment we have 11 people in intensive care who are all 40-years-old or under, that is extremely concerning,” Mr Hazzard said.
“The older age brackets are actually having less numbers now, it’s the younger people who are actually taking up places in our intensive care units and in our hospitals.”
Private hospitals in Greater Sydney will be given a $30 million boost to undertake elective surgery on behalf of the NSW Health public system.
It comes after elective surgeries were cancelled to divert resources to the Covid response.
STAY AT HOME ORDERS FOR QLD TRAVELLERS
Residents in NSW have been ordered to stay at home for two weeks if they have travelled to 11 council regions impacted in Queensland’s latest Covid-19 outbreak.
NSW Health issued stay-at-home orders for anyone who has been in local government areas between the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast in the past 29 days from July 2.
The order will require people to isolate for 14 days and only leave their home if they have a reasonable excuse including shopping or medical care.
The affected areas include Brisbane City, Moreton Bay Regional Council, Gold Coast, Ipswich, Lockyer Valley Regional Council, Logan City, Noosa Shire Council, Redland City, Scenic Rim Regional Council, Somerset Regional Council, and Sunshine Coast Regional Council.
Anyone who lives with a person who has been in the council areas will also be required to follow the stay at home rules.
Declarations will also have to be completed for all people crossing the NSW and Queensland border.
The declaration form is available on the Service NSW website.
COMPLIANCE CRACKDOWN
Police are vowing to take a “zero-tolerance” approach to businesses and shoppers not using QR codes and face masks in Sydney.
Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has announced a compliance crackdown on the current health orders in supermarkets and other large retail stores with fines of $5000 applying to those caught doing the wrong thing.
The announcement comes as supermarkets and large retail stores are continuing to prove a known source of concern when it comes to spreading Covid-19.
“There is no reasonable excuse that members of the wider community are not adhering to current health orders and using the QR check in and wearing face masks,” Mr Fuller said.
“NSW Police Force will have a zero-tolerance approach to members of the public and businesses breaching these orders.”
Businesses not complying with the QR checking system will receive a $5000 fine and members of the public who fail to check in using the QR code will be fined a total of $1000.
Not wearing a face mask carries a fine of $500.
Police have encouraged people to report potential breaches of the Covid-19 health orders to Crime Stoppers.
DON’T DELAY TREATMENT
Distraught families are taking their already dead loved ones to hospital as health authorities plead with elderly Sydneysiders to not delay seeking Covid treatment.
The Saturday Telegraph understands a family went to a southwestern Sydney hospital in the past 48 hours with a family member who couldn't be revived.
Despite the desperate attempts of emergency staff, elderly patients and their families are still reluctant to seek help.
“Very sadly we are seeing more families coming in with a family member who is presenting not alive, but dead,” Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
“That is a terrible situation, what we are fearing is some families, particularly in southwest Sydney and in Western Sydney, are staying at home when they have symptoms and not coming out and getting tested.”
The revelation came as Premier Gladys Berejiklian pleaded with every New South Welshman to urge five unvaccinated friends and family to get the jab.
“If each of us can call five people we know aren’t vaccinated and tell them to get the jab we’ll get to 10 million quick fast, and then ironically we’ll be the first state to have more freedoms,” the Premier said.
Last week Saeeda Akobi Jjou Stu, 57, of Green Valley was found dead in her home after testing positive.
Her twin sons, removalists Roni and Ramsin, had also tested positive and were charged by police after continuing to work.
chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said no one should be scared of seeking treatment.
“There should be no barriers to people ringing an ambulance … you will be treated with dignity and respect,” she said.
“Tragically, we’ve seen people present very late for care. When people present very late we haven’t got the opportunity to provide them with the great care that our health services can provide and outcomes can be much poorer.
While emergency and urgent elective surgeries continue unaffected, on Friday afternoon all elective surgeries across Greater Sydney were stopped.
The pause aims to free up resources to deal with the current outbreak, and will apply from Monday.
Ms Berejiklian renewed her calls to the federal government to fast-track vaccines to NSW, with a goal of administering 10 million vaccines to get our freedom back.
So far there have been 3.7 million vaccines administered in NSW.
“The capacity is there, we are increasing our capacity every week but what I can’t control is the number of doses,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I understand that not every state wants to reallocate, I understand the view of national cabinet as I’ve heard that on a number of occasions both formally and informally.”
It came as NSW recorded 170 new cases, with at least 42 infectious in the community. A total of 187 people were in hospital with the virus, 58 in intensive care and 24 on ventilators.
BONDI BARS KICKED TO THE KERB
Nine venues in Bondi accused of operating “kerbside bars” have been banned from serving takeaway alcohol for one week to stop people from gathering in the streets.
Special provisions enable venues to offer takeaway food and alcohol during the lockdown. But Liquor and Gaming NSW compliance director Dimitri Argeres said authorities had witnessed venues offering cocktails to people to drink nearby or as they walked to the next “bar”.
Nine venues in Bondi accused of operating “kerbside bars” have been banned from serving takeaway alcohol for one week to stop people from gathering in the streets.
Special provisions enable venues to offer takeaway food and alcohol during the lockdown. But Liquor and Gaming NSW compliance director Dimitri Argeres said authorities had witnessed venues offering cocktails to people to drink nearby or as they walked to the next “bar”.
He said the practice was encouraging the community to breach public health orders.
The direction was issued to Bondi Rumba, Bondi Tony’s Burger Joint, TAQIZA, Italo House, Speakeasy, Neighbourhood, Bondi Liquor Co, Fonda Mexican and North Bondi Fish.
Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said: “If you don’t take the safety of your staff and community seriously, you should expect a visit from the inspectors. Too many people are doing it too tough for some businesses to treat the health orders as a joke.”
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Originally published as NSW Covid update: 210 new Covid cases, with two-thirds aged under 40
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