Covid fragments found in Dubbo, Mudgee sewage

Communities across western NSW have been warned “Covid is on our doorstep” by the region’s health boss who has pleaded for more people to get tested.

Sewage tests conducted in multiple western NSW towns have picked up fragments of the virus that causes Covid-19 and the alarming results suggest there is a “high likelihood” a person in the bush has caught the disease, the region’s health boss says.

On Wednesday NSW Health confirmed samples taken from the Dubbo Sewage Treatment Plan which services 37,000 people had come back positive.

Dubbo sewage treatment plan. Picture: Dubbo Regional Council

It followed confirmation on Monday that a Covid positive sewage sample had come back from the neighbouring Mudgee Sewage Treatment Plant which services 12,000 people.

Western NSW Local Health District Chief executive Scott McLachlan while the latest sewage sample from Molong had come back negative, there had previously been two positive samples taken.

Western NSW Local Health District CEO Scott McLachlan is urging people in the bush to get tested. Picture: Western NSW LHD

“I’d say it’s a very high likelihood that we have someone in the region that has Covid or multiple people,” he said.

“Covid is on our doorstep. We can’t relax for a second.”

News of the positive sewage detection has prompted the health district to roll out more testing services in towns across the region, Mr McLachlan said.

“There’s some real urgency around people coming to get tested.

“We need to be assuming in all of our communities that Covid could be creeping around right now.

“This isn’t a time for people to relax.”

Mr McLachlan said while no new local Covid cases had been recorded, there remained one active Covid case in the region following a truck driver’s visit to pet food factories in Blayney and Parkes last month.

About 250 people had come forward for testing in Mudgee between 2pm Tuesday and 12pm Wednesday when extra drive-through testing was rolled out, Mr McLachlan said.

“I’d love to see those figures double, we know testing is our best weapon at the moment to find out if Covid is in our community,” he said.

To help detect and quash any cases, Mr McLachlan said increased sewage testing would be carried out.

The federal government’s decision to supply an extra 183,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to NSW and replace doses sent to HSC students in Sydney from regional NSW was welcomed by Mr McLachlan.

“That will be incredibly helpful in enabling us to restart some of the vaccination services that have been paused momentarily with the issue of supply with the Pfizer vaccine,” he said.

Data released this week revealed the Far West and Orana regions, which are located within parts of the Western NSW Health District, had the lowest vaccination rate in the state with 13.4 per cent of people aged over 15 fully vaccinated as at August 1.