Coronavirus NSW: Health alert for Sydney Bunnings, IKEA, Woolworths
A person with COVID-19 has visited a number of stores including a Sydney McDonald’s, Bunnings, and Woolworths. Meanwhile, major changes to outdoor dining rules and gigs have been announced.
NSW
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A person with COVID-19 visited a number of popular locations across Sydney, including a Woolworths, McDonalds, Bunnings, and IKEA.
NSW Health issued a public health alert on Tuesday afternoon urging anyone who has visited the key sites to get tested for coronavirus.
It comes after they announced there had been seven new locally acquired cases and six from returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
The shops and restaurants are in southwest Sydney, and a pop-up clinic has been rolled out at Oran Park to help people get tested.
Anyone who attended the following venues is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop, NSW Health said.
These included Woolworths Oran Park on Wednesday October 30 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm, Thursday October 8 from 5.15pm to 6pm and Friday October 9 from 6pm and 6.30pm.
Also, Prasad Nepali Emerald Hills on October 2 from 3.30pm and 4pm, Emerald Hills McDonalds on October 2 from 3.30pm to 4pm, Aldi Emerald Hills on October 2 from 5.30pm and 6.15pm, Fantastic Furniture Campbelltown on October 9 from 3.30pm and 5.20pm, Bunnings Gregory Hills on October 6 from 7pm and 8pm and Ikea Tempe on October 7 from 1.30pm to 5.30pm.
After testing, they must remain in isolation until a negative test result is received.
Five of the locally acquired cases are members of the same household in Sydney’s southwest, NSW Health said in a statement.
They are linked to a previously reported cluster of four people that included a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital.
One of those new cases is a disability support worker who worked at three small group homes in southwestern Sydney.
Health workers are doing contact tracing for seven clients and their staff. Another one of the five cases attended a childcare centre called Great Beginnings Oran Park on 1, 2, 8 and 9 October, while infectious. That centre has been closed temporarily.
The new cases has forced NSW Health to issue warnings for people who have visited several places in the Macarthur region.
Two new local cases announced on Monday were doctors who worked at the A2Z Medical Clinic in Lakemba.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said contact tracers have managed to track the interactions of one of the three clusters in Sydney.
“We have almost invariably traced (one) of them back to the source which was Liverpool hospital,” she said.
“The other two we have not found the linkages and that is most of the work that is going underway. What I need most is the community to come forward and get tested.
NSW Health has issued a new COVID-19 alert for a restaurant in Sydney’s southwest after two doctors tested positive to the virus.
Anyone who attended Ali Dine Inn and Take Away at Lakemba on Friday October 9 between 7.30-8.30pm must isolate immediately and get tested.
The two general practitioners worked at the A2Z Medical Clinic in Lakemba and are believed to have contracted the virus from a patient.
Urgent alerts have been issued for those who attended the clinic between September 29 and October 10.
The infected patient also attended ISRA Medical Practice on Monday October 5.
There are also concerns the virus could have spread among people who caught trains from Wiley Park to Lakemba between October 1 and 6.
A known case also visited the Ingleburn Hotel from 3pm to 6pm on Sunday October 4.
Major changes to outdoor dining rules and live music
Capacity of hospitality venues is set to increase from Friday, with coronavirus rules easing to allow one person per two square metres in outdoor areas.
Indoor areas will continue to be limited to one person for every four square metres of floor space.
However businesses wanting to take advantage of eased capacity limits must use electronic sign in systems like a QR code.
The government has also announced major changes to outdoor music performances and rehearsals.
Effective immediately, 500 people will be allowed to attend outdoor music performances or rehearsals, increasing limits from 20 people.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said research from medical professionals gave her the confidence to relax the rules.
“The health advice we received is that it was okay to take a step back,” Ms Berejiklian said on Tuesday.
“I am concerned, and Dr Chant has expressed the number of clusters we have at the moment. We need to make sure we monitor that and that is why we are appealing for the community to come forward and get tested.”
Seven local cases, Oran Park childcare closed
NSW recorded seven new cases of locally transmitted coronavirus infections in the past day.
There were also six cases recorded among returned overseas travellers, meaning the total number of cases in 24 hours is 13.
Five of the locally acquired cases are members of the same household in Sydney’s south west, NSW Health said in a statement. They are linked to a previously reported cluster of four people that included a nurse at St Vincent’s Hospital. One of those new cases is a disability support worker who worked at three small group homes in southwestern Sydney. Health workers are doing contact tracing for seven clients and their staff.
Another one of the five cases attended a childcare centre called Great Beginnings Oran Park on 1, 2, 8 and 9 October, while infectious. That centre has been closed temporarily.
Two new local cases announced on Monday are doctors who worked at the A2Z Medical Clinic in Lakemba. NSW Health says at this point the cases have no known links to other clusters.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said contact tracers have managed to track the interactions of one of the three clusters in Sydney.
“We have almost invariably traced (one) of them back to the source which was Liverpool hospital,” she said.
“The other two we have not found the linkages and that is most of the work that is going underway. What I need most is the community to come forward and get tested.”
NEW ALERT FOR SOUTHWEST SYDNEY VENUE
NSW Health has issued a new COVID-19 alert for a restaurant in Sydney’s southwest after two doctors tested positive to the virus.
Anyone who attended Ali Dine Inn and Take Away at Lakemba on Friday October 9 between 7.30-8.30pm must isolate immediately and get tested.
The two general practitioners worked at the A2Z Medical Clinic in Lakemba and are believed to have contracted the virus from a patient.
Urgent alerts have been issued for those who attended the clinic between September 29 and October 10.
The infected patient also attended ISRA Medical Practice on Monday October 5.
There are also concerns the virus could have spread among people who caught trains from Wiley Park to Lakemba between October 1 and 6.
A known case also visited the Ingleburn Hotel from 3pm to 6pm on Sunday October 4.
VICTORIA RECORDS 12 NEW CASES, ONE DEATH
Victoria has recorded 12 new coronavirus cases and one death as the city’s all important 14-day average continues to tick upwards.
Mystery cases have increased two since Monday to 13, while the 14-day average has increased slightly from 9.9 to 10.
Health authorities say the 14-day average must be about five for the government to consider easing restrictions on October 19.
But Premier Daniel Andrews has all but confirmed Melbourne will not see the much anticipated significant easing of restrictions next weekend.
“Provided we continue to see a trend where there are not a huge number of additional mystery cases while we continue the see this trend flow through the rest of this week, then there will be some further easing that we can announce on Sunday,” he said on Monday.
THE APOLLO, POTTS POINT FINED FOR COVID BREACH
The Apollo restaurant in Potts Point has been fined over a new coronavirus breach three months after being at the centre of one of Sydney’s biggest COVID-19 clusters.
During a routine business inspection on Saturday, Kings Cross police found the up-market restaurant in McLeay Street was in breach.
“It was established that the restaurant was using an outdated COVID Safety Plan and was not up to date with the current requirements under the Public Health Act,’’ NSW police said in a statement released today.
“Further, the manager was unable to locate a copy of the venue’s liquor licence, as required under Liquor Regulation 2018.”
The manager was issued with a $5000 fine.
In July the restaurant was closed down for two weeks after a staff member tested positive to COVID-19. A further 22 cases, including diners, were linked to the restaurant.
16 PEOPLE FINED FOR COVID BREACHES
Police also fined 16 people, including a 60-year-old woman hiding in a boot, and charged one person after stopping her at a checkpoint on the Victorian border.
A 53-year-old woman driving a Nissan Patrol was stopped at the checkpoint at Euston just after midnight on Friday and claimed she had no identification because her purse had been stolen.
After giving the name of a person who was refused entry into NSW four days earlier, police found her true identification in a handbag on the back seat.
They also found an amount of heroin in the car and discovered the woman’s licence was suspended until 2021.
She was issued a Court Attendance Notice for driving while disqualified and possessing a prohibited drug and is due to appear in court at a later date.
Police also hit her with two $1000 fines, one for failing to comply to a direction in relation to COVID restrictions into the border and a second $1000 for giving false information at border control.
About 1am on Saturday a Holden Commodore was stopped at Barham checkpoint on the Murray River and spoke with the 50-year-old female driver, who was unable to produce a permit to enter NSW.
During a search of the vehicle, police found a 60-year-old woman in the boot.
Both women were issued with $1000 fines, while the older woman was also charged with a breach of bail and issued a Traffic Infringement Notice for travelling in the boot.
She is next due to appear at Deniliquin Local Court on November 3.
A 26-year-old was also fined $1000 after being stopped at the checkpoint on Murray Valley Way, Euston on Friday night who said he had travelled from South Australia and was not aware he required a permit.
Further checks revealed he had attempted to enter NSW at the Tooleybuc checkpoint just after 8pm, was refused entry and advised entry was only permitted via the Sturt Highway at the Mildura checkpoint.