Epping coronavirus: update on cases at Dorothy Henderson Lodge
A seventh case of coronavirus has been confirmed at a Macquarie Park aged care centre. It comes as health authorities investigate reports the infected Epping High School boy caught the virus off his mother - who works at Ryde Hospital.
Northern District Times
Don't miss out on the headlines from Northern District Times. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Macquarie University launches hotline, travel ban over coronavirus
- Easter Show: how coronavirus threat will be managed
A seventh person has contracted COVID-19 at the Sydney nursing home that has been in lockdown since Wednesday, NSW Health revealed this evening.
Families of residents are being updated as new cases are confirmed at Macquarie Park’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge aged care home.
NSW Health confirmed two of the new cases today are staff members, a 24-year-old female and a 21-year-old male.
Four residents and three staff members have now been confirmed as cases at the facility to date. A 94-year-old female resident passed away earlier this week.
And, at a press conference at midday, NSW Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant said she would not be surprised if more cases emerged at the site.
“We could well see additional cases at the nursing home.”
It comes as reports suggest a 16-year-old from Epping Boys’ High School who has tested positive to the virus could have contracted it from his mother, who worked at Ryde Hospital where a doctor was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week.
NSW Health has said it was still trying to trace the boy’s close contacts.
To date, 61 staff at Ryde Hospital have been sent home to self-isolate and 56 patients have been identified as having been in close contact with the doctor.
The school and surrounds were near deserted this morning with just security guards and staff from the Department of Education on campus.
MORE: Life inside aged-care home after lockdown
MORE: Sydney’s Iranian community face coronavirus fears
School P&C member Susan Day said there had been a mixed response from parents of the 1200-student campus.
“Parents are worried about what’s happening, particularly the Year 12 students doing their HSC - I can really understand that anxiety,” she said.
“Quite a lot of parents have been questioning if siblings (of students) should also stay at home. These are questions we don’t have answers to yet.
“We’ve been told the school is working closely with the Department of Health - it’s an evolving situation.”
The school has contacted parents saying staff and students would be informed “if they can resume school as normal on Monday or if a further quarantine period will be required”.
On social media some parents said the closure was a welcome precaution.
MORE: Coronavirus frighteningly similar to Spanish flu of 1919
MORE: Are asthmatics more at-risk from coronavirus infection?
“I hope the student recovers quickly. Mines not complaining about the day off! Hopefully will all settle down soon,” one parent wrote.
There was an unexpected arrival on Friday afternoon as parents showed up to just after 2pm to pick up students who departed for a Year 9 to Fitzroy Falls in the Southern Highlands on Wednesday.
About 50 students and staff were dropped at Marsfield Park, about 500m north of the school gates.
Parent Pangr Pravati said she had contacted the school earlier on Friday to question if any students on the trip had been exposed to any risk or if the camp would be cut short.
“We’ve been told all the students are okay and the camp would finish as normal (on Friday afternoon),” she said.
Bahula Vedapurprie, whose son was also on the camp, said parents were concerned about the spike in confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Epping region.
“Hopefully it’s only one person who’s been infected and other people are safe - that’s all we can hope for,” he said.
“The virus is getting out of control so it’s good in one way the school is closing. “This way it’ll be isolated.”
He said parents had yet to be informed if students or staff would be allowed back on the school grounds on Monday.
“If the school says it’s safe we’ll go by their guidance - they would have done their due diligence,” he said.
Parents in social media have meanwhile questioned if the one-day closure be extended to a 14 day incubation period.
The Department of Education said the temporary closure would enable the school and health officials to work through a “contact and containment strategy”.
The department has been contacted for further comment.
Ryde state Liberal MP Victor Dominello called for calm and common sense as the number of cases in his electorate continue to grow.
“I personally think panic helps no one,” he said.
When asked if other schools would be closed following Epping Boys High, he said the situation was “rapidly evolving.”
He urged the community to head to NSW Health for the most up to date information on coronavirus.
“There’s a lot of misinformation on social media. I would encourage everyone to go to the single source of truth which is the health authority (NSW Health),” Mr Dominello said.
Bennelong federal Liberal MP John Alexander praised the fast action of Epping Boys principal Tim O’Brien for putting the health of the school community first and closing the school as a precautionary measure.
“Tim is a very good man and the decision he has erred has been on the side of being cautious which is the right thing to do to protect his students and staff,” he said.
Mr Alexander reminded the public not to attend their local doctor’s practices and hospital emergency departments if they have symptoms of coronavirus.
“You should call up first. The worst thing you can do is sit in a doctor’s office. It’s important you don’t infect the doctors,” he said.
He urged everyone to practice good hygiene as they would during the flu season.
“Cough into a disposable hanky and dispose of it, or into your elbow, wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitiser,” he said.
At Dorothy Henderson Lodge, the family members of residents have been notified that NSW Health had started testing all the residents in isolation and results are expected tomorrow.
A statement from BaptistCare, the site’s operator said it was “continuing to work with NSW Health in monitoring and responding to the developing situation at our aged care centre”.
“Outside our efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and protect the health and safety of our staff and teams, our major priority is having resources in place to deliver ongoing care for our residents in the coming days and weeks ahead.
“A number of team members have advised us they will not be coming to work at Dorothy Henderson Lodge. In the current circumstances we cannot force our team members to come to work.
“We do have Dorothy Henderson Lodge and BaptistCare staff on site today in addition to additional resources from NSW Health to cover the care needs of residents.
“We are doing everything we can to source additional staff from across BaptistCare and other health providers and agencies and have had a positive response so far.
“The current situation is unprecedented.”
THE COMMUNITY REACTS
At the shopping centre in the heart of the coronavirus hot zone many residents said they were taking extra precautions in the face of an “inevitable” spread of the virus.
The Northern District Times spoke with shoppers, many of them masked, at Macquarie Centre, which is a stone’s throw away from Dorothy Henderson Lodge.
Eastwood resident Beverley Hogan said the spread of coronavirus in the area was bound to happen now a school has a confirmed case.
It’s at Epping Boys. It’s inevitable. It will go through the community,” she said.
She said while she was taking precautions by carrying hand sanitiser and practising good hygiene, she felt some people were “overreacting.”
“I just think it’s more of a concern for the elderly,” Ms Hogan said.
Two friends Fiona Leung and her Cyrus San had just picked up toilet paper saying they actually needed it because they were down to their last two rolls in their household and were worried it would be hard to obtain some.
Cyrus San, from Olympic Park, was also donning a mask saying he wore it as a precaution when going out to crowded locations like shopping centres.
“I just wanted to take precautions,” Mr San said.
A spokeswoman for the company that runs Macquarie Centre, AMP Capital, said the situation was being closely monitored.
“We rely upon and follow the advice of relevant health authorities in relation to infectious diseases. At this stage there has been no instruction from authorities in relation to Macquarie Centre,” she said.
“The health and safety of everyone visiting and working at Macquarie Centre continues to be our primary focus.
“We have remained diligent in our cleaning processes and through our service providers, we have placed additional focus on key areas such as hard surfaces, food courts and bathrooms.
“We have policies and procedures in place, particularly with our service providers, if there is any escalation in advice from the government.
“We will continue to monitor the issue and if there is any change in advice, we will provide an update.”
Meanwhile, Top Ryde was eerily quiet on Friday afternoon during the normally bustling after school pick up period.
From empty seats at cafes to salons, local residents and workers said the shopping centre had taken the hit from the coronavirus.
Ermington father Stefano Capizzi who was shopping with his wife Emma and two children Leo, 3, and Mia, nine-month-old, said he couldn’t tell if it was quieter or not because he had today off but he said it was difficult doing the grocery shopping with far less items on the shelves.
“I went to Coles and there’s no pasta, no toilet paper, no nappies, wipes or paper towels,” he said.
“We’re living our normal lives. It’s either one extreme or another – you panic or you don’t. At the moment I’m not panicking,” he said.
Barista at Leaf Coffee Anna Zhang said it has been quiet during the whole week.
“Normally we would have more customers but because of the virus we don’t have as many,” she said.
Ryde resident Miranda Zhu said she was fine with still going to the local shopping centre but wanted to be on the safe side by wearing a mask.
Ms Zhu said, “I’m not scared but just wanted to use a face mask just in case – to minimise the risk.”
“Today is quiet. It was pretty easy to get a carpark,” she said.
Salon worker Aman Manchanda said they have suffered a drop of customers since the start of this week.
“It has been like this from Monday,” she said.
She said she thinks it’s been quieter because most of the coronavirus cases has happened in Ryde.
“I think everyone is just panicking,” she said.
Ms Manchada said she’s not personally worried because she thinks the doctors and health system are well equipped.
Cordon Bleu student Jacob Chung, 24, said he’s not worried about picking up coronavirus but said he noticed there were less people than usual.
“There were less people in Coles,” he said