Coronavirus: Ruby Princess passenger in Wollongong Hospital ICU with COVID-19 as local cases rise above 50
There are more than 50 people with coronavirus across the Illawarra, after numbers jumped by 13 cases since Wednesday.
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One person is in the intensive care unit at Wollongong Hospital and 50 others have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Illawarra Shoalhaven region.
The local health district has confirmed the elderly patient currently in ICU was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship, where 120 other people contracted the deadly virus.
The Illawarra Shoalhaven Health District would not confirm the patient’s movements before he was taken to hospital, but said it had contacted all close contacts of the patient.
“What I can say with absolute certainty is no one in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local HD was put at risk by any patient,” Director of Public Health Curtis Gregory said.
The number of confirmed cases in the district has jumped by 13 since Wednesday, when 38 people had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
Dr Bruce Ashford, from Wollongong Hospital’s COVID-19 Task Group, confirmed of the 51 patients in the region, five were in a dedicated coronavirus ward at the hospital, while the other was in ICU.
“We have a number of other patients in hospital who are being monitored while we wait for tests to come back,” he said.
He also confirmed no patients had any serious health conditions before contracting the virus and that they were “regular healthy people”.
Mr Gregory confirmed people in their ’60s make up the majority of cases in the Illawarra, and that most were acquired overseas.
In good news, Mr Gregory said of the confirmed cases in the local area, several were on the mend, and were close to being cleared.
“We’ve got a few that are coming out of it,” he said.
He also reminded the public of their role in stopping the spread of coronavirus, by following all of NSW Health’s recommendations.
“We’ve got 51 cases and the majority of those are mildly or moderately affected with their symptoms,” he said.
“The message we want to get out to the community is their safety, them washing the hands, the social distancing, it’s about looking after yourself, if you’re sick don’t go to work or visit people.”