New coronavirus patient related to first at Northern Beaches Hospital
A second coronavirus patient has been isolated at Northern Beaches Hospital, as around 50 people a day are being seen at the new onsite COVID-19 clinic.
Manly
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A second patient with the coronavirus is currently in isolation at Northern Beaches Hospital.
A woman in her 30s was isolated at the Frenchs Forest hospital last week, with another admitted over the weekend, according to a source.
It is understood the two patients are related but it is not known whether the second patient is a male or female.
NSW Health has refused to confirm the second patient or whether they are related.
A third person diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Northern Territory also has links to the northern beaches.
The 52-year-old man attended a meeting at WIRES wildlife rescue centre on March 6.
A spokesman for WIRES John Grant said last week that the man’s partner who also works for the organisation was one of the four other people in the meeting.
She and three others are currently self-isolating following the man’s diagnosis.
“We have taken all the precautions and we have done everything and more that we are required to do,” Mr Grant said.
“We are pretty confident that nothing is going to eventuate from this.”
Mr Grant would not confirm whether the man and his partner lived on the northern beaches.
It comes as NSW Health revealed the total number of people in NSW with the COVID-19 virus had reached 78.
This week two COVID-19 clinics opened on the northern beaches at Northern Beaches Hospital, at the rear of the emergency department and Mona Vale Hospital, next to the 24/7 Urgent Care Centre.
It is believed the Frenchs Forest hospital was seeing around 50 patients a day at the clinic.
At Northern Beaches Hospital on Tuesday people concerned they had the virus were being met outside the front of the emergency department by a triage nurse decked in protective glasses, a mask, gloves and a disposal gown, before being escorted for testing if found to meet the criteria.
The current criteria for swabbing at emergency departments is strict and staff are only admitting those who have any symptoms of fever, cough, shortness breath, muscle aches, or chills, as well as having been or had close contact with someone who has been to mainland China, Iran, Italy, South Korea, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Singapore and Thailand, or been in contact with a confirmed or suspected case of coronavirus in the last 14 days.
A hospital source said the new $600m privately-run facility was better designed than most for the fight against the coronavirus with more than 150 single rooms and up to 20 negative pressure isolation rooms, designed to help prevent the spread of infectious diseases, as well as special rooms in intensive care.
“We have more single rooms than most hospitals, more isolation rooms and a low infection rate,” the source said.
People can seek advice online from Healthdirect or by calling the COVID-19 Hotline on 1800 020 080.