Coronavirus NSW: Nine new cases, Northern Beaches woman collapses after lockdown breach
NSW has recorded nine new locally acquired coronavirus cases from a record 60,000 tests while a Northern Beaches woman has collapsed after travelling to the south coast.
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New South Wales has recorded nine new locally acquired coronavirus cases in the past day from an “outstanding” 60,000 tests.
Seven of the new cases are linked to the Avalon cluster and two are under investigation, however one of those mystery cases lives on the Northern Beaches and the other works in the CBD.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she “nearly fell off her chair” when she heard the latest testing numbers.
Watch the Premier’s announcement in the video above and follow the latest information below:
SIX MYSTERY CASES IN NSW
The total number of cases linked to the Avalon cluster now stands at 104, with six of those cases with an unknown source.
“Two of those are the patient transport workers,” NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.
“Two are geographically linked in the sense that they attended a number of the casual venues.
“One is a gentleman in his 20s who resides in the Northern Beaches … and there was also a male in his 40s who worked in the CBD.”
ALERT ISSUED FOR SYDNEY’S CBD
NSW Health has issued an urgent alert after the Sydney CBD worker tested positive.
The man aged in his 40s was an office worker in the Hunter and Bligh street area.
Dr Chant said anyone who has been in the area should have a “very low threshold for testing.”
“Anyone who has been in the northeastern part of the city, including the Australia Square, MLC Centre and Chifley Square, should be alert for symptoms and isolate immediately and get tested should even the mildest symptoms develop,” she said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there was concern about people who may have been infectious and went to work in the CBD.
She said they could have then passed the virus onto other people in the CBD and those people could have passed it on in their communities.
“They are all eventually linked to the Avalon cluster but it does mean that there is potential transmission that we are not on top of and that is a concern,” the Premier said.
Dr Chant said there are several other CBD venues NSW Health is concerned about.
“One of the new cases reported today which is under investigation attended the sports bar of the Paragon Hotel on Loftus Street near Circular Quay,” she said.
“They visited between 12:45pm to 3:30pm on the 16 December. This is the second case at this venue which now has three cases associated with it.”
WOMAN COLLAPSES AFTER BREACHING LOCKDOWN
A Northern Beaches woman who collapsed at a south coast pizza shop, has been issued a fine for allegedly breaching lockdown.
The 37-year-old woman was at the shop in Sanctuary Point on Wednesday when she became unwell and lost consciousness.
She was taken to Shoalhaven Hospital where police were told the woman appeared to be experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, but she declined to be tested and left the hospital.
She was issued a $1000 penalty infringement notice (PIN) at a home on Edmund Street, Sanctuary Point.
Three other people staying with the woman were told to self-isolate.
The pizza store has been closed for cleaning as a precaution.
QLD CASES LINKED TO AVALON CLUSTER
A Queensland man who travelled to the Northern Beaches and returned to the Sunshine State has tested positive to coronavirus.
The man in his 40s, who lives in Queensland’s south east, had been in Sydney at the time the virus began spreading through Avalon.
When he returned home, he received a test on December 18 but remained in isolation and later returned a positive result after feeling unwell.
COVID-INFECTED VAN IN AGED CARE BREACH
A major breach in protocol has led to a healthcare worker who takes sick returned travellers into quarantine also transporting a Castle Hill retirement village resident before testing positive to COVID-19, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The lapse in infection control in the state’s international border operation raises serious questions about safety measures for staff working with sick returned travellers.
The breach only became apparent after The Daily Telegraph learned that a resident of Anglicare’s Brian King Gardens home had been identified as a “close contact” of a patient transport worker who had contracted COVID-19.
Health authorities were last night scrambling to explain how the same health worker was tasked with transporting sick returned travellers and a vulnerable aged care home resident needing medical treatment.
The resident and other Anglicare staff have so far tested negative but all close contacts can only be considered cleared of the virus 14 days after they were exposed.
NSW Health first revealed that a nurse working to transport sick returned travellers to quarantine had tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday. A colleague of that nurse was one of the eight new local cases reported on Wednesday.
It was originally assumed the nurse had caught the virus after transporting a sick family returning from the US into quarantine on December 14. However Dr Kerry Chant said the cases were linked with the Avalon cluster.
She said the driver “did not acquire their infection through transporting the patients that had the COVID-19 infection”.
How the driver and the nurse are linked with the Avalon cluster is still a mystery.
The transport staff work for HealthShare NSW, a government agency providing services to support delivery of patient care. It’s understood safety measures are in place to prevent any workers involved in hotel quarantine also transporting vulnerable patients in the community, but a breakdown in the system led to the worker driving a vulnerable patient after transporting sick travellers.
In a statement last night, a spokeswoman acknowledged “that staff should not transport or be in proximity with vulnerable groups, including residents in aged care facilities, if they work in settings where they come into contact with people who are at a higher risk of having COVID-19.”
“HealthShare will ensure this situation cannot occur in future,” the spokeswoman said.
In a Tuesday night email to families, Anglicare said a Brian King Gardens resident had “been in close contact with a hospital patient transfer worker who tested positive to COVID-19”. The impacted resident and several staff were swabbed on Monday evening.
“The resident has since tested negative and is self-isolating,” the email said. Anglicare staff also had negative results.
CALL TO SAVE SYDNEY CRICKET TEST
Deputy Premier John Barilaro has called on Cricket Australia to save Sydney’s summer Test amid fears Queensland’s border closures will rob our city of the match.
He said Victoria and Queensland should “get their hands off” the Sydney Test, and that we should not be punished for Queensland’s border closures.
A behind the scenes push is under way to rescue the New Year’s Test, as Cricket Australia authorities weigh options, including two Tests in Melbourne or Brisbane at the expense of NSW.
It comes as Aussie batting star Steve Smith’s plans for a Christmas reunion with wife Dani were dashed due to the new pandemic restrictions.
The pair have been apart for more than 120 days due to the team bubble and despite travelling to Melbourne in the hope of meeting up with her husband, Dani will not be allowed to enter the Australian camp to reunite with Smith.
Queensland’s announcement that its border will not open to Sydneysiders before January 8 at the earliest has sparked concern among authorities about logistical difficulties in transferring from the Sydney Test, which is due to commence on January 7.
Cricket Australia remains locked in government conversations in a bid to overcome the border problem.
Mr Barilaro, who was approached by NSW Cricket figures for assistance, said if Queensland kept its borders shut, that state should face the repercussions of the result — not Sydney.
“When Queensland shuts its borders, it forfeits its right to be heard. Sydney should get the Queensland Test as well as keep the New Year’s Test,” Mr Barilaro said.
He pointed out that NSW had effectively rescued the $300 million summer of cricket after the government gave approval in October for the Indian team to quarantine and train in Sydney. The NSW lifeline came after Queensland baulked at Cricket Australia’s quarantine requests and did not want the Indians to train during their two weeks of isolation.
“Cricket Australia should remember that it was NSW that kept the economy going and NSW that kept cricket going,” Mr Barilaro said.
“My call is on Cricket Australia to return the goodwill.
“My message to Queensland and Victoria is to get your hands off our Tests.”
It is understood Cricket Australia figures also have an appetite to repay NSW for the role the state played in securing the summer of cricket and are trying to exhaust all avenues, however the result will depend on the health situation in NSW and the border rules in Queensland.
CA interim CEO Nick Hockley said “our preference remains to play the match at the SCG” and added: “We will continue to work closely with all relevant parties to make the right decisions.’’
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