CONFIRMED: Local COVID-19 patient winds up in ICU

AN ACTIVE COVID-19 patient on the North Coast linked to a Sydney cluster is now in intensive care.

ONE COVID-19 patient is being treated in Lismore Base Hospital’s ICU.

ONE of the Northern Rivers' active COVID-19 patients is now in intensive care at Lismore Base Hospital.

The director of the North Coast Public Health Unit, Paul Corben, confirmed the news on ABC radio this morning.

"One of our cases, a locally residing case, associated with a cluster in Sydney, is currently in ICU in Lismore," he said.

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The patient, who is aged in their 60s, is currently listed in a stable condition.

They are part of a couple who attended a series of funeral gatherings and church service attended by a woman in her 40s from the Fairfield area, in Sydney.

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Mr Corben went on to explain that any patient in ICU was in a very serious condition.

"That's the horror of this pandemic, while some people have a very mild course of this illness, with people barely showing symptoms at all, we know some people in the community are much more susceptible to severe illness," he said.

"It's largely older people, or people with chronic conditions, but it can strike people at any age. So the best way to avoid that is for all of us to work together to reduce transmission."

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded in the Northern NSW Local Health District since the pandemic began is 58, with no increases recorded last week.

The two most recent cases are still within the isolation period. All the earlier-reported cases are no longer infectious and have been released from isolation.

A spokeswoman from Northern NSW Local Health District said 53 of those cases are now listed as 'recovered', while five are listed as 'active' - these figures include two patients who have had the virus for more than 80 days, plus three cases reported in the past few weeks.