Northern Rivers lockdown: Authorities struggle to track Covid man’s movements

The Northern Rivers has entered its first full day of lockdown, with authorities racing against time to track down the movements of a Covid-positive man who didn’t use QR codes.

Updated 3.45pm: The Northern NSW Local Health District has revealed a number of locations a Covid positive man visited.

See the list here.

Updated noon: Authorities say an “increased regime of compliance” will is in place to protect people from regional NSW against the Covid outbreak.

Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said police had stopped more than 400 vehicles in the state’s north in the past 24 hours, with 17 PINs issued and seven vehicles turned around and sent back to where they came from.

“Right across the state there are now risks and threats with people breaching public health orders and the police have specific operations at each of the areas to ensure people comply and put us in a position where we can best get through this challenging time,” Dep Commissioner Worboys said.

“It is a challenging time for the community and police but NSW Police won’t back down in their endeavour to ensure people comply with the public health orders across the state.”

Updated 11.50am: NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the decision to lockdown the North Coast quickly was made because of the risk to the community.

Dr Chant said they know the man who tested positive to Covid-19 had been infectious in the community for upwards of eight days, as werehis children potentially, so those factors influenced the decision to lockdown with only one hour’s notice.

Updated 11.30am: The NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has been drilled at a press conference about why residents of the North Coast have not been told where a man with Covid-19 had visited.

He was repeatedly asked if the man failed to co-operate with authorities to determine where he had been while infectious.

Mr Hazzard said he did not want to prejudice the police investigation of the matter, but said police were looking extremely closely at what the man was doing on the North Coast.

He reminded the community to “be open” about their movements with police, even if they’ve done the wrong thing, Mr Hazzard added: “Hopefully, any activity that might have been inappropriate or illegal will be dealt with by the police and courts.”

“A small group who have caused (outbreaks across NSW), if they would just behave themselves and have an element of decency towards the rest of the community, we would sort this problem out.”

“Police are looking extremely closely what he was doing in that area, I trust the police will be able to take appropriate action in due course,” he said.

He said police would take appropriate action if he was found to have acted inappropriately or illegally.

Mr Hazzard was asked if the man from Sydney who tested positive at Lismore Base Hospital had tried to leave Lismore Base Hospital, but he refused to be drawn on the matter.

He said he needed to be cautious in commenting on the incident that was still being investigated.

Mr Hazzard was also questioned on whether a loophole allowing people to look at real estate had resulted in the man travelling to the North Coast from Sydney, but he said that was also being investigated.

He reiterated that Public Health Orders were in place and that people needed to comply with the orders to get through the outbreak.

An increased police presence was in place to ensure compliance.

Updated 11.05am: One man from Northern NSW has died from Covid-19, and two children have tested positive.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said a man in his 80s from northern NSW died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He acquired his infection overseas and is not linked to the current outbreak.

Dr Chant said the two children of a man who visited Byron Bay and later tested positive at Lismore Base Hospital have also tested positive to Covid-19.

A further case of Covid is being investigated.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there has also been one more potential case of Covid detected on the North Coast overnight, but she said this case was not connected to the case announced yesterday.

The NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said the two children of a man who tested positive to Covid-19 at Byron Bay have also tested positive to the virus.

She said a number of exposure sites had been identified, but there had been no further cases linked to those exposure sites.

She also said one man from the North Coast who was in his 80s had died from the disease in hospital after returning from overseas.

NSW recorded 356 news cases of community transmission of Covid-19 to 8pm last night.

Updated 10.30am: The Covid-positive Sydney man who prompted the lockdown in four shires on the Northern Rivers did not visit Queensland, it has been confirmed.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and the state’s chief health officer Jeannette Young confirmed the Sydney man drove north to Byron Bay where he was infectious in the community from July 31.

They have warned Queensland residents not to cross the border into those areas of NSW and vice versa.

“We do not want to see mass movement there,” the Queensland Premier said.

An increased police presence along the border has been promised and changes to the border pass system are likely to follow, with any changes communicated via the Queensland Health and Government websites.

Indeed Queensland has promised a “thick blue line” will be in place along the border to stop that traffic flow.

There were 3525 vehicles intercepted on the border yesterday with 64 turned around.

Queenslanders who were in the four local government areas of Byron, Lismore, Richmond Valley and Ballina on or after July 31 are subject to the same seven day lockdown as residents of those areas.

Initial story: NSW Health still has not released any exposure sites for the Northern Rivers, after it was confirmed a Covid-19 positive man in his 50s was active in the region for a number of days while infectious.

It comes as the Lismore, Ballina, Byron and Richmond Valley LGAs enter their first full day of lockdown.

Lockdown has been slated to end next Tuesday August 17.

Byron Shire Mayor Michael Lyon told the ABC the Covid-positive man did not “believe” in signing in to venues using QR codes.

That has made it extremely difficult for police and health authorities to trace his movements.

However it understood NSW Health has started to get in touch with some venues on the Northern Rivers.

The Nimbin Village Pharmacy posted on its Facebook page: “As a result of contact tracing, Nimbin Village Pharmacy staff have had to undergo Covid testing. Closed Tuesday”.

A swathe of exposure sites for Sydney locations were added to the NSW Health website yesterday.

However none have been listed for the Northern Rivers.

Anyone on the Northern Rivers who has even mild symptoms is being urged to get tested. A list of testing sites can be found here.