Hunter Covid: 592 fresh cases in region as active cases passes 6700
There has been a significant drop in the daily case numbers across the Hunter New England Health District, although the thousands in isolation for the Christmas period continues to rise.
Newcastle
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Christmas Eve has darkened for hundreds more Hunter residents, with health authorities reporting a further 592 fresh Covid-19 cases across the district.
The numbers have also pushed the number of active cases across the Hunter New England Health District to 6769.
The numbers are a significant daily drop from the 976 positives reported on Thursday.
Newcastle (194 fresh cases) and Lake Macquarie (175) continue to be significant local government areas of concern, with Maitland (75), Cessnock (33), Port Stephens (30), Singleton, (16), Muswellbrook (5), Upper Hunter (4) and Dungog (2) also reported new positives.
The number of people needing hospitalisation for Covid-19 has decreased by one overnight to 13, with two people still in intensive care across the health district.
THURSDAY
The Hunter’s Covid-19 Christmas chaos continues to deepen, with 976 confirmed positive cases across the Hunter New England Health District reported on Thursday morning.
Of those, 932 cases were in the Hunter alone.
It includes 338 in the Newcastle local government area, 316 in Lake Macquarie, 142 in Maitland, 61 in Port Stephens, 42 in Cessnock, 10 in Singleton, eight in Muswellbrook, six in Upper Hunter and five in Dungog.
There are now 6507 active cases across the health district, with 14 receiving care in hospitals and two in intensive care.
Across NSW, there were 5715 fresh cases reported. One person has died, there are 347 in hospital and 35 in intensive care.
“This does mean that Covid is all around us and we do have to really make sure we take all the measures that are so important keep ourselves and others safe,’’ Hunter New England’s Dr David Durrheim said.
“Emerging data from overseas indicates that a booster dose is very important to protect oneself against the omicron variant.
“So if you are due for a booster get your booster now.
“This is a very important way of reducing your risk of symptomatic disease by up to ten-fold and the risk of severe disease and possibly dying by twenty-fold.
“So boosters are very important. Masks are absolutely critical in any indoor environments.
“A mask will keep you safe, give you further protection above vaccinations as well.’’
WEDNESDAY
While NSW continued to smash records with its daily Covid tally of 3,763 on Wednesday, case numbers in the Hunter thankfully saw a reprieve, with a substantial drop.
NSW Health confirmed 623 cases of the virus in the Hunter New England region, with 5,728 active cases now recorded in the local health district.
Breaking it down, the Hunter saw 592 of Covid cases alone, significantly less than on Tuesday, which peaked at 804.
Again Newcastle and Lake Macquarie were the Covid hotspots in the region, with 226 and 208 respectively.
Of the almost 600, 97 were from Maitland, 33 from Port Stephens, 20 from Cessnock, five from Singleton, two from Muswellbrook, one from Dungog, while the Upper Hunter was Covid free.
Currently 11 active cases are being cared for in local hospitals, with one in ICU.
Across NSW, two people died with the virus in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.
There are now 302 people in hospital with the virus, with 40 of those in intensive care.
The daily case numbers have been climbing steadily, with 3057 new cases reported on Tuesday, 2501 on Monday and 2566 on Sunday.
Tuesday
As NSW Covid numbers peak at 3,057, so too did the numbers across the Hunter, with Newcastle recording a staggering 326 cases.
On Tuesday, 820 cases were confirmed in the Hunter New England region, with 804 in the Hunter alone, a big jump from Monday 650 cases.
Currently there are 5169 active cases in the local health district, of which 14 are active cases being cared for in hospital and one in ICU.
Lake Macquarie recorded the second highest number of cases in the region at 254, there were 133 cases in Maitland, 48 in Port Stephens, 26 in Cessnock, seven each in Muswellbrook and Singleton, two in Dungog and just one in the Upper Hunter.
It comes with more than 136,000 tests conducted across the state, with two deaths recorded and 39 people in ICU.
Hunter New England Health are urging anyone who is yet to receive their vaccination to do so and book in for a booster if eligible.
“Walk in appointments, including for boosters are available at the Belmont Hub for all people who received their second vaccination more than 5 months ago,” a spokesperson said.
“We also strongly encourage the community to continue to wear masks, particularly in indoor environments and avoid crowded venues and indoor gatherings.”
Monday
‘Hysteria’: Covid cancellation chaos hits businesses
It’s been described as “hysteria”, as people scramble to cancel their bookings across the Hunter, in a bid to stay Covid free ahead of Christmas and out of isolation.
Customs House owner and President of the AHA (Australian Hotels Association) Newcastle/Hunter branch Michael Starkey said the current Covid chaos in the region is decimating local businesses, which are being left high and dry in a period which should be booming.
“You’ve just got to have a look at the street, it is bloody empty,” he said.
“Our business for this time of the year would be 95 per cent down, every single function cancelled.
“It’s a lock down by stealth, hysteria has absolutely taken over, it’s devastating.”
On Monday, 650 Covid cases were recorded across the Hunter, with a bulk of those in Newcastle at almost 300.
Although numbers are slowly going down, it’s still more than a fifth of the state’s Covid tally, and after the super spreading event at The Argyle, people are running scared, cancelling all plans to stay at home in-case Christmas plans are ruined, as some are ordered into isolation.
While Customs House stayed open, some cafes, restaurants, pubs and clubs were forced to close with staff also considered close contacts.
But it didn’t matter, because there were no customers anyway.
“Last weekend was a huge weekend, by Monday the phones starting running hot, we went from our busiest weekend of the year to the quietest weekend of the year,” Mr Starkey sadly said.
“We rely on this busy period to get us through the winter slow months and we’re not going to have the revenue from this period to carry us through, so it’s going to be a really tough 2022.”
The owner of the Young St Hotel in Newcastle voiced his devastation on a Facebook post after his business was hit hard by cancellations over the weekend.
“As I sit in my empty pub after the last minute cancellation of 880 people worth of bookings – and my other venue temporarily closed due staff shortages – I ponder if the correct structures have been put in place for the new ‘living with Covid’ world,” he said.
“Honestly, this cannot be the way that we move forward. Even lockdown was better. At least then we got support, and knew our staff were being looked after.
“There is no guaranteeing this won’t happen again in a month, two months, a year?
“In my opinion, they need to either roll back to the lockdown, masks, square metre world (that no one wants), or completely change how they deal with outbreaks, and forge forward.
Chairman of the Newcastle Tourism Industry Group Kent Warren agreed everyone was taking a large amount of precaution coming into Christmas, which has taken its fair toll, but there was a silver lining.
“Cancellations are extreme because people are heeding the advice,” he said.
“The positive thing is people are taking their own precautions rather than the government having to step in and I think that’s how we’re going to get back to business quicker.
“Without a doubt it is devastating, we thought business would be booming into Christmas time it’s not and that is definitely impacting businesses.”
Although, the confusion around close and casual contacts has also added to the craziness and uncertainty.
“NSW Health hasn’t told anyone to shut down, businesses have just done it, that confusion adds to the lack of staff, it has been a perfect storm and it’s not about to abate either,” Mr Starkey commented.
“Right now we’ve got NSW Health at odds with NSW Government, the information coming across is confusing and changing on the hop.
“We’ve been told at 95 per cent we’re free but turns out we’re not. There’s an air of disappointment.
“It’s creating angst within the community and it’s uncalled for. We need to take a breath, look after each other and be mindful it is around and hopefully business will bounce back after Christmas
EARLIER
Covid numbers continue to be high in the Hunter, with more than a fifth of the state’s cases, but are being seen to slowly drop as residents exercise caution in heading out and about before Christmas.
On Monday, NSW Health confirmed 660 cases of Covid-19 in the Hunter New England region, with 650 alone just in the Hunter.
The hardest hit was Newcastle with a whopping 294 cases, while Lake Macquarie recorded 220, 75 from Maitland, 19 from Cessnock, 16 cases in Port Stephens, 16 in Singleton, five in Muswellbrook, four from the Upper Hunter and one from Dungog.
In total, the local health district now has 4368 active cases, with 17 being cared for in hospital and three in ICU.
It comes as the state records 2,501 new cases, after more than 144,000 Covid tests, as numbers remain relatively steady in the latest outbreak.
While some medical experts, including the Australian Medical Association, warn about the dangers of the virus spreading so rapidly, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet is assuring we’ll get through the summer, as NSW lives with Covid.
So far 93.4 per cent of people across the state are doubled vaccinated, with 78.1 per cent of children aged between 12-12 also now double vaxxed.
Hunter New England Health is urging the community to get tested if they experience even the mildest of symptoms and keep up the mask wearing.
“We strongly encourage the community to continue to wear masks, particularly in indoor environments and avoid crowded venues and indoor gatherings,” a spokesperson said.
“We urge anyone who is yet to receive their vaccination to do so and book in for a booster if eligible.
“Walk in appointments, including for boosters are available at the Belmont Hub for all people who received their second vaccination more than 5 months ago.”
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