Coronavirus NSW: Westfield Parramatta, OLMC record positive cases
COVID-19 continues to sweep western Sydney, with fresh positive cases reported at one of Sydney’s busiest shopping malls and a third case at a Catholic high school.
Parramatta
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Coronavirus’ grip on Parramatta is tightening, with fresh positive cases reported at Westfield shopping centre at Our Lady of Mercy College where a third student has tested positive to the virus over the past week.
NSW Health advised those who attended Parramatta Westfield on August 5 between 4pm and 5.30pm and August 8 between noon and 1pm to isolate, monitor and test for COVID-19 symptoms.
At OLMC Parramatta, a third case has been identified but the source of the infection is unknown because it is not linked directly to the previous two cases which forced the school to close for cleaning at the weekend.
“Due to the concern about the virus spreading within the school, NSW Health and the school agreed to close the high school for 14 days to allow for contact tracing and to reduce the risk of the virus spreading at the school,’’ a NSW Health statement said.
“Students and staff have been advised to self-isolate for 14 days, monitor their health and get tested for COVID-19. Students and staff will return to on-site learning on Monday August 24.’’
Parramatta Public School also closed today after a student tested positive to COVID-19.
“Students will continue to be supported through existing learning from home arrangements while the school is thoroughly cleaned.’’
Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club visitors who attended on 5pm on August 7 to 1.30am on August 8 should also self isolate following positive cases being recorded there.
The growing COVID-19 outbreak led several locals to flock to Parramatta Community Health Centre in Jeffery House for testing on Wednesday.
For Parramatta 47-year-old Duane Bok, a cough led him to have his second COVID-19 test after a negative result in May.
“I’m not feeling as well as I usually do and I’ve got a few symptoms and my girlfriend suggested I go to get checked,’’ he said.
“I take public transport a lot and I’ve been to Westfield Parramatta a few times and there’s not a much social distancing being applied.’’
The contract specialist, who works from home, wears a mask “intermittently” when he catches the train to visit his girlfriend in the Southern Highlands village of Balmoral but congested carriages add to his worries.
Between 11am and noon, a steady stream of 20 people lined up for the swab test at the NSW Health-run Marsden St clinic.
Harris Park parents and health workers Vemanna and Sreeveena Reddy, and their seven-year-old daughter Diya, who is in Year 2 at Parramatta Public School, turned up for testing after the school informed families about a child testing positive to COVID-19.
“It was a bit scary because she has been at school already and you don’t know who’s got it,’’ Mrs Reddy said.
“We’ve been wearing masks and social distancing and washing hands.’’
The parents also want to ensure they get the all-clear before they return to their jobs – Mrs Reddy is an assistant nurse at a private hospital and her husband is a carer at an aged care centre in northwest Sydney.
Parramatta mother-of-three Nigar Faraj, who has a son Hawlan, 12, and daughter Hanya, 9, at Parramatta Public School, as well as a two-year-old son Payaln, shares every parent’s concerns.
“It’s not nice, sometimes there’s going to be worry about what’s happening in the future, especially for my son (Hawlan). He has asthma and allergies but now he’s feeling fine.’’
Harris Park restaurant owner Nare Desai brought his two daughters, aged nine and 11, to the clinic for testing after Parramatta Public alerted parents about an infected student yesterday. He will now hold off returning to work for 72 hours while his family isolates.
North Parramatta man Daniel Uchwal, 36, was tested on Wednesday after experiencing “normal flu-like symptoms’’, which he believes he caught from his partner Candice Pittman, 37, who was sick last week.
“I had a headache yesterday and a sore throat this morning but pretty much the flu that she had,’’ Mr Uchwal said.
The call centre operator works at Yennora and must now isolate for 72 hours.
He and Ms Pittman are also cautious for symptoms because they live with more than 10 people.
“We live in a sharehouse so we have to be considerate of others as well, even if it’s in the kitchen putting on a mask,’’ Ms Pittman said.
Ms Pittman undertook a test at Jeffery House last week and was relieved when it returned a negative result.
While restrictions mean she cannot visit family in the Hunter Valley and northeast NSW, or plan her wedding, she is relieved her sons, aged 17, 13 and seven, live in Tamworth away from clusters that have struck their western Sydney community.
“Even though we’re nothing in comparison to Victoria, last week I was sick and I could have put it off but I didn’t want to take that risk.’’
For North Parramatta couple Lalit and Santa Tamang, their jobs led them to return to Jeffery House for their second test despite recording negative results there two weeks ago.
Mr Tamang, 29, works at a bistro in Mounties club at Mt Pritchard – the centre of a cluster two weeks ago – and his wife, 27, is a disability nurse which requires her to visit clients in their homes.
“We feel scared to go outside because we don’t know who’s infected,’’ Mrs Tamang said.
Elderly North Parramatta couple Trevor and Helen Dorsman were not feeling ill when they turned up for testing but did so on their doctor’s advice.
Referrals are not needed at Parramatta Health Clinic, which opens for COVID-19 testing Monday to Friday between 9am and 4pm. Referrals are not needed.