Coronavirus NSW: 12 new cases recorded, student tests positive
Macquarie University has confirmed a student who recently attended the campus has tested positive for COVID-19, adding to the state’s growing clusters.
NSW
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Macquarie University has confirmed a student who recently attended the campus has tested positive for COVID-19, adding to the state’s growing clusters.
“Following guidance from the authorities, contact tracing measures are now underway and anyone who may have come into contact with the student will be informed to self-isolate and get tested,” a spokeswoman said.
“Macquarie University Sports and Aquatic Centre at 10 Hadenfeld Avenue will be closed for the day for deep cleaning.
“Pending advice from NSW Health, we anticipate that these premises will reopen tomorrow.
The spokeswoman said the university would “take the necessary remedial closure and cleaning activities as required” once they receive more information about the movements of the student on campus.
The case will be included in tomorrow’s totals.
NSW Health is also advising anyone who attended Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski at Castle Towers Shopping Centre and Chemist Warehouse at Epping to closely monitor for symptoms after confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported at both venues.
The cases visited Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski on Wednesday October 5, between 12pm to 5pm and Chemist Warehouse on the corner of Bridge and Rawson Streets, Epping on October 6 between 10.30am-11am.
It comes as NSW recorded 12 new cases of coronavirus in the past day including eight locally acquired infections and four in hotel quarantine.
Five of the local cases are linked to known clusters of the disease.
Three were reported yesterday but are included in today’s official total.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant is confident the links between the cases will be tracked down.
“Currently NSW health is looking at two clusters and as the Premier indicated investigations are ongoing at this stage but we can’t prove there are subsequent links between the two clusters.
“In terms of the first cluster this is believed to be linked back to the Liverpool dialysis cluster and obviously we are doing urgent genome sequencing and we will have those results tomorrow.
“Of that cluster we had one person who hosted a social event at their home. That was a female in her 30s, who also is a healthcare worker at Liverpool hospital. The health care worker did not have symptoms.
“In terms of her two household contacts, they have become infected, (they are) a male in his 80s and a female in her 60s. Then two people who attended the social event have also become cases. That is a lady in her 30s and another lady in her 50”.
Dr Chant said there is still some tracing to be done for the second cluster.
“If I now go to the second cluster that we’ve been investigating. You might recall yesterday there were two cases. One a gentleman in their 50s and the second female their 50s,” she said.
“What has subsequently transpired is a household contact of the gentleman in his 50s. He is actually a co-worker of the lady in her 50s. They both are healthcare workers who work at a private health care clinic.
“And I can say their second contact tracing in relation to one of the sites that the worker works at has been completed and we are working through contact tracing at a second venue in Liverpool.”
Premier Gladys Berejiklian is concerned there are some unknown cases in NSW.
“I am … expecting the number of community transmissions to increase, given those three cases yesterday,” she said. “But that’s what we expect in a pandemic. If you’re keeping your borders open, if you have an open economy, you’re keeping jobs going, you’re making sure the community is supported as much as possible, whilst you’re controlling the virus, you’re going to have cases pop up now and then.” And that’s why I’ve always argued that it’s better to have a resilient system, one with open borders, rather than have these artificial rules about when it’s safe to open a border or not. I don’t think that works, I don’t think it’s fair,” she said.
PREMIER: QLD MAKING UP ‘EVERY EXCUSE’ ON BORDER
Earlier, Premier Gladys Berejiklian accused Queensland of making up “every excuse” to keep its border closed, saying the sunshine state’s premier is “unjustified” in her approach to borders.
Ms Berejiklian has lashed out at an “additional rule” imposing a 48-hour deadline to link three new cases before the border clock restarts.
“I mean that’s not anything official I’ve ever heard before,” Ms Berejiklian told 2GB’s Ben Fordham.
“I just think the Queensland Government is really just thinking up every excuse it can as it goes along and I don’t think that’s acceptable.”
She said the “blinkered view” of QLD and WA in keeping their borders closed is “unjustified”.
“I just don’t think it’s acceptable,” she said.
Mark McGowan has previously said the eastern states want the WA border open so that states residents can spend money here.
“I said to him, ‘well that’s the end of the GST dollars for the Queensland and WA,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“NSW subsidises all the states. If it wasn’t for us, they wouldn’t get the GST revenue they do.
“And because Victoria is out of action that’s meant that NSW has been carrying the load.”
COVID ALERTS FOR NINE SYDNEY LOCATIONS
Diners at a Milsons Point restaurant and those who visited a car mechanic on Sydney’s lower north shore have been told to isolate following new coronavirus fears.
Several community transmission cases identified in the past day prompted health officials to issue a spate of alerts for venues across the city.
One confirmed case attended Ripples restaurant in Milsons Point on Saturday, October 3 from 8pm to 10.30pm. However, the details of a small number of walk-in diners at the restaurant during this time were not recorded.
All diners who were at the venue are considered close contacts and must immediately isolate for 14 days.
An alert has also been issued for the Mazda Artarmon repair centre on Campbell St after a case visited the mechanic between 7.30-9.30am on Friday, October 2.
Earlier on Wednesday, NSW Health issued alerts for the following venues:
– Friday 2 October: Kmart, Narellan Town Centre, Narellan – 6pm to 7pm
– Saturday 3 October: Fitness First, Carlingford (all attendees other than those in the pilates class notified above): 8 to 9:15am
– Sunday 4 October: Penrith Homemaker Centre, Penrith – 11am to 1pm
– Sunday 4 October: Guzman y Gomez, Penrith – 1:30pm to 2pm
– Sunday 4 October: Home Co, Penrith – 2pm to 2:30pm
– Monday 5 October: Westfield Parramatta – 9:30am to 11am
– Monday 5 October: Castle Towers Shopping Centre, Castle Hill – 12pm to 1pm
VICTORIA RECORDS 11 NEW CASES
Victoria jas recorded 11 new cases of coronavirus in the past day and no new deaths.
The new tally means Melbourne’s crucial 14-day virus average remains in single digits despite a slight spike in cases.
The average is now 9.7 and strengthens calls to reopen the city by October 19, with health authorities imploring that figure must be around five for the Government to consider easing restrictions.
NSW CONTACT TRACERS ON THE CLOCK
NSW Health officials are in a race against time to prove new cases of COVID-19 are not locally acquired, if the Queensland-NSW border is to reopen on November 1.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk issued NSW a 48-hour ultimatum to find out where the infections originated as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged residents to come forward for testing amid an alarming plunge in swab rates.
Ms Palaszczuk’s latest foray into the border wars threatened to put a wrecking ball through the federal Budget, which rests on the economic assumption that all state borders, except Western Australia, are open by the end of the year.
The war of words comes as two new venues in NSW were found to have links to COVID-19 cases, including a cafe which did not record the contact details of all diners.
Any failure by Queensland to comply with this risks ripping more tourism and business dollars from the economy and reducing economic growth.
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Firing a salvo at the sunshine state, NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet labelled Queensland “beautiful one day, subsidised by NSW the next” and noted that it was more likely he could get to “Queenstown before Queensland” under Ms Palaszczuk’s rules.
Ms Palaszczuk confirmed yesterday morning a likely re-set of the 28 day clock should NSW record another case, before she was aware the state was about to post three.
“That’s my understanding, according to the chief health officer yes,” she said.
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles later toned down the remarks.
“I don’t want to get ahead of ourselves,” Mr Miles said.
“The contact tracers in NSW have been doing a really great job. So I hope that they can identify how these are linked to a cluster.
“But if they’re not, then that’s very concerning and so we would need to take that into account.”
Mooloolaba tourism operator Steve Kerry has struggled to stay afloat through an incredibly “hard year” and believes it’s “too much” for his overzealous state government to keep the border with NSW shut.
Mr Kerry, 51, has lost about 70 per cent of his customers, who are usually travellers from NSW, and said keeping the border shut was causing a “big downturn” for small tourism businesses.
Mr Kerry said the “huge” impact of the pandemic had seen him shut down two scuba stores, leaving him to operate his business from one small boat. “It’s a bit over the top, I understand (Annastacia) Palaszczuk’s taking precautions but I think it’s too much,” he said.
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