Coronavirus NSW: Residents told to mask up as mystery cases grow
Health Minister Brad Hazzard says bars, restaurants and cafes could be subject to tougher measures again if people don’t practice being COVID-safe.
NSW
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Tougher coronavirus rules could be implemented in bars, cafes or other settings where there has been community transmission if NSW residents and businesses do not strictly adhere to current COVID safety measures.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard has singled out “bar crawls’’ as one activity that needs to be stamped out to reduce the burden on the state’s contact tracing team.
Mr Hazzard urged “young people to get on the journey with us and cut down the number of places they might go to in one night”, to keep their older loved ones safe.
He said attending multiple venues makes the job of the state’s contact tracers even harder than it usually is.
“We can’t rule out having to take further measures if people think it’s OK to go to multiple venues in the middle of a pandemic,” he told The Daily Telegraph.
“Health workers need to have young people as partners in beating this virus.”
It comes as a pub in Sydney’s inner west was dubbed “the worst pub seen so far” by Liquor and Gaming inspectors after failing a slew of COVID safe regulations.
The Garry Owen Hotel was fined $10,000 for its failure to have an up to date COVID safe plan, having only three staff to a packed pub, not enforcing sign-in procedures, allowing punters to stand and mingle and for not having adequate hygiene.
Liquor & Gaming NSW Director of Compliance, Dimitri Argeres said the venue was letting it’s staff and community down.
“In fact the venue was essentially being operated as though there were no restrictions in place,” Mr Argeres said.
27 venues have been fined by the Department of Customer Service, amounting to $152,500 in fines.
The Dry Dock Hotel and Riverview Hotel in Balmain were fined this week, along with the Padstow Park Hotel and Padstow Bowling Club, the Marrickville Ritz, the Royal Hotel in Randwick and Yai Thai in Gosford.
Police have also thrown the book at two NSW country publicans after officers found they didn’t have COVID-19 Safety Plans.
PREMIER TAKES STRONGER STAND ON MASKS
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has strengthened her stance on NSW residents wearing masks and hinted at further restrictions to curb the spread of the virus.
Only a third of NSW residents are wearing masks in certain places and Ms Berejiklian said her government may take tighten rules.
“If government doesn’t feel that people are taking it enough and the risk continues, and the risk of unknown sources increases, of course we will take further action,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian said she would “absolutely, potentially” mandate wearing masks in places of worship, on public transport, or for hospitality workers if mask use doesn’t increase.
NSW businesses failing to comply with COVID-19 restrictions have been put on notice, with Ms Berejiklian warning the government “will have to go a step further” if people don’t stick to the rules.
GRACE PERIOD FOR THOSE RETURNING FROM VIC
NSW recorded 18 new cases yesterday, with two mystery cases not linked to any known source.
There were two cases acquired from Victoria.
NSW residents returning from that state in the next month will now have hotel quarantine fees waived for a month, after people seeking to flee from Australia’s COVID capital said the price tag for enforced quarantine was an obstacle for them coming home.
The “grace period” will apply retrospectively, meaning more than 20 people who flew in from Melbourne since rules changed on Friday will also not be charged.
“We feel there were a number of applications on hardship grounds where NSW residents who may have lost a job or been down there for very tragic family circumstances want to come back home,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
“You still need to do your hotel quarantine, but you won’t need to pay for it.”
From Friday to Monday, 23 NSW residents had returned from Melbourne and been sent into hotel quarantine.
“NSW residents who are down there in Victoria who want to come home but are obviously limited because of their financial issues can now do it,” Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
The Premier said the one month moratorium on costs will free-up health staff who were deciding which cases should go into quarantine for free.
Canberrans stranded in Victoria will have four days to drive home, ending a border stand-off that saw them stuck at the NSW border.
About 100 ACT residents were stranded at the border after NSW rules were changed to block entry into the state from anywhere except Sydney airport.
The Health Minister said the government has now made arrangements with Police to allow those residents to drive home by “direct route”.
ACT residents will only have four days to drive home, starting from Thursday. They must travel between 9am and 3pm.
“Hopefully those folks can get back and get back to their arrangements that the ACT have in place to self isolate and quarantine.”
TANGARA OUTBREAK SOURCE REMAINS A MYSTERY
A growing coronavirus outbreak at Tangara School for Girls remains a mystery, with the school cluster growing to 19 cases and the source of infection unknown.
Two additional cases were linked to the northwest Sydney school outbreak on Wednesday.
A retreat attended by five Tangara girls has emerged as one potential source of the virus spreading through that school.
The retreat was organised by Eremeran Hills Study Centre, which is part of the same Opus Dei community as Tangara.
A third case has also been identified at Parramatta’s Our Lady of Mercy College, with that school now closed and staff and students told to isolate for 14 days.
“Because this new case is not directly linked to the two previous cases, a precautionary approach has been taken,” NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.
Of the 18 cases reported in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, 13 were locally acquired and linked to known cases, one was a returned traveller, two were acquired in Victoria and two were locally acquired without a known source.
Among the 18 cases was a second health care worker at Hornsby Hospital, who did not work while infectious.
Dr Chant said over the past six weeks, infections had continued to emerge with no known source, the majority in western and southwestern Sydney.
“We are concerned that we have local transmission particularly in southwestern Sydney and western Sydney,” she said, and urged residents in those areas to get tested for even the mildest symptoms.
TWO VENUES FINED FOR COVID BREACHES
A venue near Casino in the state’s north has been fined $5000 for not having a COVIDSafe plan and three others have been issued $1000 PINs in the latest round of police crackdowns.
Police allege the 65-year-old owner couldn’t produce a COVID-19 Safety Plan when officers attended the Bruxner Highway venue on Friday and issued the man an on-the-spot fine.
When police returned to the venue yesterday, the man allegedly didn’t produce a plan once again.
Police returned a third time this morning and issued the man with a Court Attendance Notice.
He is due to appear at Casino Local Court on Thursday 8 October 2020.
In a separate incident, the licensee of a hotel at Tuncurry was issued with a $1000 fine following an investigation into alleged breaches of COVID-19 Public Health Orders over the weekend.
Individuals who were also issued fines include a 23-year-old man who attempted to enter NSW for a third time without a valid permit, a 65-year-old man who tried to continue through the Buronga border checkpoint despite being denied entry and a 58-year-old man from Victoria who also tried to enter NSW without a permit.
POP-UP CLINICS OPEN IN NORTHWEST
Hundreds of residents queued for drive-through testing at Castle Hill Showgrounds today after NSW Health opened pop-up clinics to test residents in the northwestern suburbs.
Swab tent sites were moved several times to make room for the massive rush in the morning.
Another testing clinic popped up in Sydney’s northwest just minutes from the Tangara School for Girls where a cluster has now grown to 19 people.
Pennant Hills Community Health Centre is open for testing from 8am to 6pm daily with no booking required and same-day results.
The northwest cluster has forced the suspension of all visits at nearby Anglicare aged care homes in Castle Hill.
Castle Towers also issued a warning to customers after an infected person visited the shopping centre on Friday August 7 between 3.30pm and 5pm. Anyone who has symptoms and visited the centre at that time should get immediately tested.
The showground drive-through clinic will be open 9am-4pm Monday to Friday.
VICTORIA RECORDS DEADLIST DAY
Victoria has recorded 410 new cases of coronavirus and its deadliest day with 21 more fatalities, taking the state’s death toll to 267.
Premier Daniel Andrews said 16 of the deaths were linked to aged care outbreaks. Among them was a woman aged in her 100s.
More than 400 aged care residents had been transferred to hospital due to outbreaks.
Mr Andrews said there was some “concern” about rising cases in regional Victoria including in Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo and urged people to avoid travelling around the state.
The number of active cases in Victoria is 7877 with more than 1000 active infections among healthcare workers and 1929 cases connected to aged-care facilities.
Of the 662 Victorians in hospital, 43 are in intensive care.
Today’s figures are an increase after Monday’s 322 cases, the lowest daily increase in Victoria since July 29, and Tuesday’s case load of 331.
BORDER STAND-OFF ENDS
Canberrans stranded in Victoria will have four days to drive home, ending a border stand-off that saw them stuck at the NSW border.
About 100 ACT residents were stranded at the border after NSW rules were changed to block entry into the state from anywhere except Sydney Airport.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the government had now made arrangements with police to allow those residents to drive home by “direct route”.
ACT residents will only have four days to drive home, starting from Thursday. They must travel between 9am and 3pm.
“Hopefully those folks can get back and get back to their arrangements that the ACT have in place to self isolate and quarantine.”
LATEST NSW SCHOOL CLOSURES
Parramatta Public School will not be open for on-site learning today after a student tested positive to COVID-19.
The school is working closely with NSW Health to identify and notify close contacts while the school is thoroughly cleaned.
A positive case in a Batemans Bay High School student, and one in a student from Batemans Bay public, have also closed those campuses.
The Tangara Girls secondary school campus is closed until August 24, with all students and support told to self-isolate for 14 days. The junior school will reopen today.
Students from the Tangara school catch the 626 Hillsbus, which also services pupils from Our Three cases have now been confirmed at Lady of Mercy College in Parramatta.
Because the source of the latest infection is unknown and not directly linked to two previous cases, the school will close for 14 days and students and staff told to self-isolate for 14 days. Students and staff will return to onsite learning on Monday 24 August.
NSW VENUES UPDATE
Two people linked to the Tangara cluster who were infectious with COVID-19 attended the Wildginger restaurant in Huskisson on August 8 from 7.45pm to 10.30pm.
Patrons and staff who were at the venue during this time must self-isolate for 14 days and get tested for COVID-19.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the dates and times below are also advised to isolate and watch for symptoms.
• Rhodes Ikea August 8: 1:20pm -2:20pm
• Parramatta Westfield August 5 4pm-5:30pm and August 8 12pm – 1pm
• Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club August 7 from 5pm to 1:30am
• Castle Towers Shopping Centre August 7 3:30pm – 5pm
• Baby Bunting, Penrith on August 8 between 1.15pm – 1.45pm
NEWMARCH HOUSE TELLS OF BAD ADVICE
NSW Health told the operator of Newmarch House, where 17 people died with COVID-19, not to use full PPE unless staff were around aged care residents who had tested positive or were suspected cases.
The Royal Commission into Aged Care also heard operators claim they struggled to get access to the equipment.
Anglicare boss Grant Millard said the policy instruction in an email from the NSW State Emergency Response and Preparedness Branch, contradicted advice from Nepean Hospital head of infectious diseases James Branley “to treat all of your residents as COVID-positive until it’s proven otherwise”.
NEWCASTLE COVID-19 HEALTH ALERT
COVID-19 traces have been found in Newcastle sewage sparking a public health alert for local residents.
Recent samples taken from the Burwood Beach Sewerage Plant, near Merewether Heights, detected virus fragments extracted from the stool of an infected person following shedding of the virus.
Shedding is when particles of the virus are expelled from the body and can extend for several weeks beyond the person’s infectious period.
The treatment plant serves the Newcastle City area and surrounding suburbs.
“It’s remarkable with a large sewerage catchment of over 200,000 people, we’ve found COVID virus fragments,” Dr David Durrheim (pictured), Hunter New England Health’s COVID-19 response controller said. “It could mean we missed additional cases of COVID-19 in our community and we have to test more.”
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