Coronavirus NSW: Apollo Potts Point, Pritchards Hotel, Mounties shut
Two new cases of COVID-19 have forced the closure of three venues including a second Potts Point restaurant and two southwest Sydney pubs with anyone who attended the venues urged to immediately isolate.
NSW
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Three more Sydney venues have been forced to close their doors after being linked to two new coronavirus cases.
A second Potts Point restaurant, The Apollo, has shut after a staff member tested positive with all diners who attended the venue between July 23-25 are asked to quarantine for 14 days after their visit.
Mounties on Meadows Road and the Pritchard’s Hotel, both in Mt Pritchard have also shut after a customer attended both pubs while infectious.
All staff and guests who attended Mounties on July 23 between midnight and 3am as well as July 24 between both 11am-3pm and 8pm-midnight must isolate for two weeks.
Those who attended the bistro at Pritchard’s Hotel on July 23 between 7-7.45pm should get tested if they have any COVID-19 symptoms.
In a statement on Monday, Pritchards Hotel management said a guest had tested positive for the virus.
“We have been notified today (27 July) that a guest in our venue has tested positive for the Coronavirus (COVID-19),” the Facebook post said.
“As a licensed venue, we already have very high standards of cleaning and hygiene in place, and the venue has a detailed deep clean scheduled overnight tonight.
“If you visited Pritchards Hotel on Thursday 23 July between 7.00pm and 7.45pm and have since displayed symptoms, or do so in the next two weeks, we urge you to contact the Department of Health.”
THREE FINED FOR COVID BREACHES
Meanwhile in NSW, three people were issued fines over the weekend for failing to self-isolate after returning home from Victoria.
On Saturday, officers visited a couple in Deniliquin after reports the pair had recently travelled interstate and were not isolating.
A 33-year-old woman and 31-year-old man allegedly told police “it’s a free country” when questioned, they were both subsequently issued $1000 on-the-spot fines.
Yesterday, officers from the South Coast Police District attended a home at Surf Beach, after reports a 63-year-old woman had visited a supermarket in Batemans Bay despite being directed to self-isolate after returning from Victoria.
The woman was also issued a $1000 fine.
QUEENSLAND WARNS OF MORE BORDER RULES
Queensland has warned border restrictions could tighten even further if there is more community transmission of coronavirus in NSW.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her government would not hesitate to slam the border shut to more Sydney hot spots as residents from Fairfield LGA are blocked from the sunshine state today.
“Every single day we are monitoring what is happening in NSW,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Monday.
“Complacency is our enemy; anything can happen at any time.”
The announcement comes as the Northern Territory also confirmed that its borders will remain closed to Sydneysiders for at least another four weeks.
“There is still community transmission which means Sydney will present a threat for the foreseeable future,” NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner said.
“If our borders need to stay closed, they will stay closed.
“For anybody who does come, they know what’s waiting for them, two weeks in a supervised facility and a bill for $2500.”
VICTORIA CONFIRMS SIX DEATHS, 532 CASES
Australia’s biggest daily coronavirus increase has been announced in Victoria, with 532 new COVID cases and six new deaths recorded.
A woman in her 90s, a man and woman in their 80s, a man and woman in their 70s and a man in his 50s are the latest Victorians to die of the virus with five connected to aged care.
The latest fatalities bring the national COVID-19 death toll to 161.
It is the single worst day since the pandemic began. The previous highest tally was 484 in Victoria on Wednesday, July 22.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said far too many people were still going to work with symptoms.
“It is the biggest drivers of these numbers going up rather than going down,” he said.
“So my message, my request, my plea to all Victorians … if you are sick, even mildly, you just can’t go to work. The only thing you can do is get tested. The only thing you can do is then wait at home, not going to the shops, not going anywhere, until you get your test results.”
SEVENTEEN NEW CASES IN NSW
Meanwhile, 17 new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in NSW as authorities work to track down the origin of two infections.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said eight of the new infections were confirmed in hotel quarantine.
Two cases, however, are under investigation, while the rest have been linked to existing clusters of the disease.
Three cases of the virus have been linked to the Thai Rock Restaurant and four are related to the St Brennan’s Church funeral cluster.
Ms Berejiklian said the state was still half way through the “critical” phase of the disease.
“Given the circumstances NSW is holding the line and doing okay but NSW is on high alert.”
The new infections come as health authorities name two new southwestern Sydney restaurants where patrons are being urged to get tested.
Anyone who attended Tan Viet Noodle House, also known as the Crispy Chicken Noodle House, in Cabramatta between 1pm and 2pm on Wednesday, 22 July, or An Restaurant Bankstown between 9am and 11am on Thursday, 23 July are asked to watch for symptoms and get tested if symptoms appear.
SCOTT MORRISON PRAISES NSW COVID RESPONSE
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the COVID-19 outlook for NSW is getting “a lot better” as health experts track down clusters of the disease.
Speaking to the media, he said Victoria had “a long way to go” in getting on top of the health crisis as the curve of infections grows.
“We are still seeing case numbers at elevated levels and so, as we have seen from other jurisdictions, when you get community-based transmission, it does take some time to get that down,” he said.
The outlook for NSW is “better,” he said, largely as a result of the effectiveness of the state’s contact tracing work.
“That gives us a lot more cause for confidence in NSW.”
Mr Morrison also said the focus moving forward needs to be on protecting our most vulnerable in aged care centres.
SYDNEY SCHOOL CLOSES AFTER DIAGNOSIS
A student at Georges River Grammar School in Georges Hall has been confirmed as having COVID-19.
The school has been closed while contact tracing and cleaning are underway.
The child is linked with the funeral and related church services in southwestern Sydney between 16 and 19 July.
Close contacts will be notified to undertake 14-day self-isolation after their last contact with the case and undertake testing for COVID if they develop symptoms.
SECOND THAI ROCK CLOSED
It comes as a second Thai Rock restaurant in Sydney has been hit by COVID-19 as cases connected to the southwest eatery continue to surge.
An isolation warning has been issued for anyone who attended Thai Rock in Potts Point after a staff member tested positive to coronavirus.
The owners of Thai Rock Potts Point also own Thai Rock in Wetherill Park, a cluster that now has 67 cases of coronavirus linked to it.
Six of the 14 new cases reported yesterday are linked to the Wetherill Park restaurant.
NSW Health said investigations to date have not identified links between cases at the two sites.
MORE PUBS HIT WITH FINES
It comes as revellers at a dance party, pubs and a travel company were among rule breakers to be hit with tens of thousands of dollars in fines following a weekend compliance blitz by NSW Police.
Twelve people — eight men and four women aged in their 20s and 30s — were issued with $1000 fines after police discovered a bush rave attended by up to 200 people near Lake Jindabyne on Friday night.
In nearby Thredbo police issued $15,000 worth of fines at the River Inn after allegedly witnessing capacity breaches.
Police claim people waiting in line on Saturday afternoon were not physically distancing and there were more than the permitted 10 people seated per table.
Other patrons were breaching health orders by socialising while standing up, police said.
The licensee was initially warned, however when police returned an hour later they allegedly observed further breaches.
The licensee received two $5000 fines, while a travel company owner who organised for a significant number of attendees to go was issued with a $5000 fine.
A pub on the Princes Highway in the Wollongong suburb of Figtree will also be fined $5000 after a police inspection on Saturday afternoon found patrons standing up and congregating in groups.
WARNING FOR FUNERAL ATTENDEES
NSW Health on Sunday warned anyone who attended funeral and church services in southwest Sydney are at risk of contracting coronavirus after four of the 14 new cases were associated with a cluster tied to a funeral service at St Brendan’s Catholic Church, Bankstown last Saturday morning.
Anyone who attended St Brendan’s Catholic Church Bankstown at 6.30pm on July 16, or from 10am on July 18, must isolate, get tested regardless of symptoms and continue to self-isolate for 14 days even if the test is negative.
The same advice applies to any person who attended Ausia Funeral Services at Fairfield East between 1pm and 8pm on July 17 or the St John of God Lawn at Rookwood from 11.30am on July 18 and Our Lady of Mt Carmel at Mt Pritchard from 7.30am on July 19.
Three new cases recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm Saturday were returned travellers in quarantine while one case remains under investigation.