Coronavirus NSW: Thai Rock supercluster outbreaks linked
NSW has recorded five new cases of COVID-19 overnight, but the state remains on high alert as silent transmission continues in Sydney’s south and west. It comes as John Barilaro breaks ranks with the Premier, calling for a relaxation of NSW-Victoria border restrictions.
NSW Coronavirus News
Don't miss out on the headlines from NSW Coronavirus News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Only 1 in 15 aged care homes get ‘unannounced’ spot checks
- ‘State border closures could do more harm than good’
NSW has recorded five new cases of coronavirus overnight, two of which are in hotel quarantine and three of which are in southwest Sydney.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said none of the new cases were linked to the security guard who worked in hotel quarantine and tested positive a few days ago.
“But of course we’re on high alert to make sure that there aren’t any additional transmissions that we’re not picking up,” she said.
“If you’re in western or southwestern Sydney in particular, that if you have the mildest of symptoms, you come forward and get tested, because we know the virus is circulating in those communities and our anxiety is that we want to reduce the number of unknown cases.
“There are still at least a case a day which we can’t directly or immediately link.”
NSW Chief Medical Officer Dr Kerry Chant said of the five new cases, one was a household contact of the July funeral cluster, bringing that cluster to 74 cases.
The other cases were a female outpatient in her 60s at Liverpool Hospital, and a man in his 20s. The source of both cases are under investigation.
BARILARO CALLS TO ‘RESET’ BORDER
Deputy Premier John Barilaro has broken ranks from the Premier, calling for a relaxation of the NSW-Victoria border restrictions.
Mr Barilaro is today visiting Albury to speak with the local member Justin Clancy about the concerns of border residents in a bid to persuade the Premier to “reset” the border.
“Seven weeks on, some of the numbers across the border are getting better … therefore, there is an argument for a reset today to move forward,” Mr Barilaro said.
“To lift the border entirely in one swoop may be impossible and detrimental to the wellbeing and health of this region, let alone NSW. We will do it in a measured way,” he said.
He said he would take the information from speaking with local government back to the Premier and senior party members in Sydney.
Mr Barilaro said businesses impacted by the border restrictions will have a relief package coming their way, which will be announced by the Premier “at a point”.
Earlier today he told the ABC the permit system was “cumbersome and problematic”.
“I’m here to make sure we put in place the ability for this community to function and function well, without the onerous task of permits,” Mr Barilaro said.
“There’s almost an argument we should start lifting some of those restrictions on the border,” he said
THAI ROCK CLUSTERS LINKED
New genomic sequencing has linked coronavirus cases at two Thai Rock restaurants in NSW, one in Wetherill Park and one in Potts Point, despite the eateries being 32km apart.
A spokeswoman for NSW Health said genetic sequencing of the virus for cases from the two restaurants proves they were linked — but there was still one major issue.
“It is unknown which cases link the two venues and this is under investigation,” she said.
The original source of the cluster, now linked to 153 cases, remains under investigation.
The cluster was first announced on July 17, three days after a female worker in her 30s began developing symptoms and got tested.
In the weeks following, it spread like wildfire and was linked to five other community clusters across south west and western Sydney.
On July 22, a case with no known source was linked to the Thai Rock Restaurant in Potts Point, where the patient had dined on July 17.
Less than a week later, a staff member at the Apollo Restaurant in Potts Point was diagnosed with coronavirus, also with no known exposure.
Testing of staff and patrons of both restaurants led to contact tracers finding a couple who had eaten at Thai Rock in Potts Point on July 17 and the Apollo on July 22 — linking the cases.
Since the supercluster began, cases have been linked to funeral gatherings, an under-5s football game, and Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Harris Park.
VIRUS STILL CIRCULATING IN SYDNEY
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she remained deeply concerned about south west and west of Sydney, as there had been multiple cases almost every day with no known source, leading authorities to believe there is a yet-to-be-detected strain travelling through the area.
She said there were cases nearly every day from residents of the area who had no known source and more than a dozen that were still under investigation weeks later.
“These (cases) are part of the same strain but they don’t have a confirmed source as to where the virus was acquired,” she said. “For that reason, we are really encouraging people in southwest and western Sydney to come forward and get tested.”
VICTORIA’S LATEST
Victoria has recorded 240 new cases of coronavirus overnight and sadly, 13 deaths from the virus.
The number of daily cases is slightly higher than Wednesday’s 216 cases and Thursday’s 221.
HEALTH ALERT FOR VIRGIN FLIGHT
A health alert has been issued for Virgin flight VA962 from Brisbane to Sydney.
On Wednesday, Japanese authorities contacted Queensland Health to say an Australian woman had tested positive to the virus upon her return to Japan from Brisbane via Sydney.
The woman, who returned from Japan mid-July, spent two weeks in hotel quarantine in Sydney before travelling to Brisbane.
She tested negative to the virus twice while in quarantine, and was able to go about normal life upon her arrival into Brisbane for about two weeks. It’s understood she returned home to visit a sick relative.
She returned to Japan on Monday, via Sydney, and though asymptomatic, has now tested positive to COVID-19.
“However, on her arrival to Japan on August 18, she was asymptomatic but returned a positive COVID-19 result.
BUSINESSES RIDE OUT UNCERTAINTY
Thousands of retailers attempting to get back to business-as-usual are battling on after a hotspot declaration wiped out their foot traffic.
NSW Health added the City of Sydney local government area to its list of six hot spots on Saturday, meaning more than 100,000ha of the city are now subjected to “increased testing and surveillance”.
In inner city Darlinghurst, Italian restaurant Bill & Toni’s is grappling with a drop in revenue as office workers who once flocked there now either work from home or are unemployed. And tourists are no longer coming to the city.
But with loyal locals, manager Claudio Tropea said he was still “optimistic about the future” and even ordered custom masks for his staff.
“I’ve bought us some Bill & Toni’s masks so if things progress then we will implement that,” he said. “We try to keep up to date with what the government tells us to do. At the moment masks aren’t mandatory but if staff want to they are welcome to.”
In nearby Rushcutters Bay, business at Sturrocks Ship Chandlers dropped “dramatically” when the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia identified a positive COVID-19 case among its patrons.
Co-owner John Sturrock said the hotspot listing prompted staff to decide to wear masks.
The business is also considering QR codes at entrances to help track contact details.
It’s a different story in the hotspot of Parramatta in Sydney’s west where florist Joy Lukasik has reported a surge in business. Her store, Floral Expressions, was already set up for online.
“We are scared … we lost a lot of the corporate office jobs, and weddings have all been cancelled. But having said that … with people not being able to attend funerals and hospitals we have seen an increase in people sending flowers,” she said. There are now seven local government areas classed as hot spots by NSW Health including, Parramatta, Campbelltown, Canterbury Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield and Liverpool.
As she lined up for a COVID-19 test, Rushcutters Bay artist Tania Mason told The Daily Telegraph she was staying home more since her suburb was declared a hotspot.
“You have a responsibility,” she said. “I probably won’t go to so many different places and I’ll be wearing a mask. I won’t be going to restaurants at the moment,” she said.