Byron Bay backpackers Covid quarantine guests start checking out
A makeshift Covid quarantine hub has rolled into Lismore Showgrounds as guests who were forced into quarantine at a Byron Bay hostel start checking out.
Lismore
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More than 20 guests and staff from a Byron Bay hostel that was locked down this week have checked out to finish their Covid quarantine in the community.
It comes after no new Covid cases were detected in Northern NSW in the 24 hours leading up to 8pm Saturday.
Northern NSW Local Health District chief executive Wayne Jones said fewer than 60 of the 81 people who had been locked down since Wednesday remained at the Aquarius Backpackers Resort.
The guests were forced into quarantine after a staff member who lived at the hostel tested positive for Covid.
Mr Jones on Sunday afternoon said none of the people in quarantine had tested positive to Covid.
At least 16 motorhomes were parked in a cordoned off section of Lismore Showgrounds on Sunday afternoon after being set up by NSW Health as a quarantine option.
They were all fenced off individually and had their own wheelie bins in front.
Mr Jones said all of the hostel close contacts would undergo mandatory testing on Monday and a decision on any further isolation requirements would be made once the results were known.
“While the fact that no new cases have been identified so far is welcome news for health authorities and the Byron community, we continue to urge residents and visitors to take Covid-safe measures when out and about,” Mr Jones said.
It came after a public health alert was issued on Saturday after health authorities realised “a number” of people had been infectious in the Byron Bay community.
They used QR check-in at 80 venues in the Byron area between November 20 and November 25.
Anyone who was in Byron between those dates has been urged to get tested for Covid-19.
“If you do not have symptoms, you do not need to isolate while awaiting your result,” Mr Jones said.
There are more than 450 Covid- 19 testing locations across NSW.
Click here to find a clinic or contact your GP.
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