PM calls for clarity on COVID hot spots, NSW remains on alert
A second hotel quarantine security guard has tested positive for COVID-19 and several venues in Sydney’s west have issued alerts after being visited by people infected with the virus. It comes as NSW recorded nine new cases overnight.
NSW Coronavirus News
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Health authorities believe a second hotel quarantine security guard infected with COVID-19 likely caught the disease from another guard diagnosed earlier this week.
NSW Health confirmed today that a second security guard who worked at the Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel when it was operating as a quarantine facility had contracted the virus.
His infection was identified after more than 700 people were tested by NSW Health following the first security guard’s diagnosis earlier this week
While investigations were at an early stage, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant told reporters she was not jumping to conclusions.
“The obvious conclusion is the he may have been exposed to the same virus strain that our first guard was,” she said
“But in ultimate investigative thoroughness were organising for his samples to be transported for urgent genome sequencing to see if they are part of the cluster.”
Health are also looking at CCTV footage, as the two guards are not known to each other socially or in terms of close contacts and no overt links have yet been established, she said.
The guard confirmed positive today worked at the Marriott on August 3, 5, 9, 10.
Both guards worked on same shift only once on August 3.
The guard also worked at the Sheraton Grande Hyde Park overnight on August 16.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Leanne McCusker said the guards were the only known transmission in hotel quarantine since the program began in Sydney.
“The protocols that are in place have been reviewed to be sure they meet the highest health and safety standard and we are very confident we have a very robust process in place,” Assistant Commissioner McCusker said.
NSW RECORDS NINE NEW CASES
NSW recorded nine new cases of COVID-19 overnight after Friday’s seven-week low of one infection.
Of the nine cases reported to 8pm last night, four were close contacts of existing cases whose source is under investigation and two have no known source.
One is linked to the Tangara School Cherrybrook school cluster and two linked to a Bankstown area funeral cluster.
NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McNulty said while case numbers had remained low this week, the virus continued to circulate in the community.
At least 16 cases in the past six weeks have not been linked to a known source, the majority in Sydney’s west and southwest, and high-testing rates were crucial to contain further spread.
An additional alert have been issued for people who attended Westfield Mt Druitt on August 12 between 12pm and 12.30pm and August 14 between 11am and 12pm.
A previously reported case visited the centre at those times while infectious and anyone who attended at those times must monitor for symptoms, and get tested and isolate if they occur.
NEW ALERTS IN SYDNEY’S WEST
One of today’s cases attended Cabramatta Family Practice on John St Cabramatta.
Covid cleaners have swarmed on the suburban medical practice after the confirmed case visited the location on August 20.
In what can only be bad news for an area already enduring the 116-person Thai Rock cluster in Wetherill Park, cleaners worked overnight on the medical centre, which is about 150m from the business centre and two doors down from a daycare facility.
NSW Health said everyone at the facility has been contacted.
Authorities have also issued a warning about customers who visited ALDI Bonnyrigg on Tuesday, August 11, Aldi in Fairfield West on Sunday 16 August and the Aldi Erskine Park store on August 7 or 8. People who attended those stores on those dates should monitor their symptoms and get tested and isolate if any appear.
Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone said recent infections had taken away confidence from the area’s 15,000 small businesses.
“Our city and it’s people are resilient and I am sure locals will still come out and support local businesses,” Mr Carbone said.
“A lot of businesses are surviving by doing takeaway but that is never enough.”
Cabramatta remains one of seven suburbs and six western Sydney local government areas where even mildly symptomatic people are urged to get tested for COVID-19.
Other south west Sydney clusters include 58 cases linked to Crossroads Hotel at Casula, 72 cases linked to the July funeral events in the Bankstown area and five cases linked to Chopstix Asian Cuisine at the Smithfield RSL.
Mr Carbone said the council has resorted to giving out masks, hand sanitiser and wipes to small community and sporting clubs.
VICTORIA LATEST
Victoria’s numbers continue to show positive signs that stage four lockdown is working, with the state recording 182 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, and sadly 13 deaths.
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said it was great to see two days in a row of cases under 200.
“That is showing up in the stabilisation of hospital figures as well, we have a decrease in hospitalised patients, a decrease in ICU and even ventilators. So the overall trend is positive,” Prof Sutton said.
“Next week we, if we carry on like this, we will see numbers below 150. But it is the simple measures, the ones we have show.”
Among the deaths recorded on Saturday, the youngest was man in his 50s while the oldest was a woman in her 100s. Authorities have linked 10 of these to aged care homes.
Another 30 mystery cases have been detected in Victoria, bringing the total cases with an unknown source to 3838.
Active cases across the state have decreased by 128 to 4293.
CALL FOR HOT SPOT CLARIFICATION
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called for greater clarity on what a COVID-19 ‘hotspot’ is after more areas of Sydney were put on high alert to get tested despite just one new virus case being recorded yesterday.
Mr Morrison said the government would seek advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee after admitting it was “difficult” to understand what makes a local area a virus hotspot.
“When you have restrictions being placed on people‘s movement in the country based on what is and what is not a hot spot there needs to be a clear medical and scientific definition,” he said.
“It‘s a very difficult topic for us to get a clear definition of what constitutes a hot spot … we need to get more clarity.
“These decisions cannot be made on an arbitrary basis.”
It comes as NSW Health doubled the state’s list of identified areas, asking residents in the entire Newcastle area, Woollahra LGA including Double Bay and Point Piper, Hornsby and The Hills LGA plus Guildford and Merrylands to get tested after they were added as recognised hot spots yesterday.
The new additions join the existing hot spots in the City of Sydney east, Parramatta, Cumberland, Canterbury Bankstown, Campbelltown, Fairfield and Liverpool LGAs.
Jade Burke, 21, from Gymea Bay said she found the lack of consistency on hot spots “very confusing”.
“It’s hard to go to places, like Queensland has classified all of Sydney as a hotspot but NSW has only classified some suburbs and places as hot spots, then some areas have heaps of cases and some have barely any,” Ms Burke said.
“It’s very confusing, especially if I want to go out, I don’t know if it’s safe or not.”
The Daily Telegraph understands Newcastle has been an area of increased testing and surveillance since the recent cluster of cases connected to a pub night out earlier this month, however the NSW Government website alerting the public to these areas was only updated yesterday.
The list of local health districts identified as higher are alerted for a range of reasons, including recent cases in the area, if an infectious person visited or if there is a fear of undetected community transmission.
The sole new case reported overnight has been identified as a close contact of an existing virus case at Hornsby Hospital, bringing the state’s total to 3783 confirmed cases.
It comes as NSW Health conducted over 32580 tests in the past 24 hours,
Health officials are treating 111 patients for COVID-19, with seven in intensive care and six on ventilators.
Eighty-five per cent of cases currently being treated don’t require hospital treatment, according to NSW Health.
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