Lismore Covid case being treated at home

The region’s health boss says a Covid-positive person who caused Lismore’s seven-day lockdown doesn’t appear to have breached public orders.

The Covid-19 case that triggered Lismore’s seven-day lockdown does not appear to have breached public orders, according to the region’s health authority.

Very little details have been offered publicly about the person, other than them having “a possible link to Sydney”.

Northern NSW Local Health District acting chief executive Lynne Weir said the one confirmed Covid case was a resident of the area who was under home care and not at Lismore Base Hospital.

“They are monitored by the Hospital at Home Service,” Ms Weir said.

“This has been going on for 18 months, we have had positive cases cared for at home since last year and then we had Easter this year.”

Ms Weir said it was presumed the person was infected with the Delta variant.

“They have to do special tests to tell, but you would presume it’s Delta,” she said.

Northern NSW Local Health District acting chief executive Lynne Weir. Picture: Tessa Flemming

She said the person’s immediate family members were being tested.

“We do lots of testing, and currently there are no other people infected at this time,” she said.

“If people are in contact with someone who is positive, there is always a chance someone could be infected, that’s why they isolate people.”

Ms Weir said there was no indication public health orders had been breached in the case.

“I don’t believe so,” she said.

“This person didn’t know they were infected.”

She said information from this case did not result in a police investigation.

Goonellabah Public School was closed on Thursday after it was confirmed on Wednesday a person with Covid-19 attended the school on Monday.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard announced the Lismore local government area would go into a lockdown for seven days.

Despite a venue of concern in Evans Head and two in Lismore, NSW deputy premier John Barilaro said Richmond Valley area was not going into lockdown but it was being “investigated”. 

Silly Solly's discount store on Keen Street in Lismore was identified as a Covid-19 contact location. Picture: Liana Boss

Ms Weir said that decision was taken by the Public Health Unit and was discussed with the NSW Government.

“When (the NSW Government) let people out of lockdown, they said positive cases may trigger further lockdowns,” she said.

“When there is a positive case in the community, like in this case, they look at whether they were infectious in the community, and this person was infectious in the community, so they then decide to (lockdown) the local government areas rather than the whole area.”

She said local contact tracers had stopped supporting their counterparts in outer areas of NSW to focus on the case.

“Every health district has contact tracers, I can't tell you how many do we have here now but we have increased those numbers over time,” she said.

Lismore Base Hospital will continue receiving patients during the lockdown, Ms Weir said.

“People can still move between the different facilities, so they can still take patients into Lismore from the other hospitals,” she said.

Restrictions still apply, as hospitals in Northern NSW are not currently allowing visitors, except on very specific circumstances or on compassionate grounds.