Albury’s Covid crisis: Just 23 cases overnight
Albury-Wodonga’s Covid crisis appears to have stabilised after the city recorded just 23 cases overnight.
Albury Wodonga
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Albury-Wodonga’s Covid crisis appears to have stabilised after the city recorded just 23 cases overnight.
There have been five deaths linked to the outbreak at the Mercy Place aged care facility after two people, a man in his 70s and a 101-year-old woman died on Monday. They were both fully vaccinated and had underlying health conditions.
Of the 23 new cases, Albury recorded just 13 and the remaining 12 were recorded across the border in Wodonga.
The Greater Hume LGA recorded two new cases and the nearby town of Wangaratta recorded four new cases.
This comes as NSW Health state-run clinics begin offering a booster dose, using the Pfizer Covid vaccine, to individuals aged 18 and over.
People aged 18 years and older may receive a booster at least six months after receiving their second dose of any of the Covid vaccines registered for use in Australia.
Last week State Wodonga MP Bill Tilley said his community desperately needed support from the Australian Defence Force as testing sites reach capacity.
Covid commander Jeroen Wiemar said cases were concentrated in a significantly younger population of the community.
Mr Weimar said it was a “significant outbreak” and urged symptomatic people and primary close contacts to get tested as soon as possible.
Albury-Wodonga Public Health Director Lucy Shanahan said the outbreak was predominantly within the 5-30-year-old age group with transmission occurring primarily through social gatherings and household contacts.
Ms Shanahan said testing sites were continuing to experience high demand.
She said people who were not primary close contacts or did not have symptoms should wait before getting tested so that those in priority groups could be helped first.
Ms Shanahan said she expected testing sites to remain at capacity in the coming days.
Schools have also been impacted by the current outbreak.
Border Christian College, Thurgoona Public School and Trinity Anglican College in Albury have closed due to positive cases within their communities.
On the Victorian side of the border, the Health Department listed Kids on Campus, Southern Rise Children‘s Centre, Wodonga South Primary School TheirCare and Wodonga Middle Years College as being closed due to positive Covid cases.
Catholic College Wodonga and Wodonga Senior Secondary College announced they were closed due to positive cases.
Wangaratta High School announced on Tuesday that it would be closed for the rest of the week due to Covid related staff shortages.
But in good news Ms Shanahan said the outbreak was contained, with all cases linked and outbreak sites known to health authorities.
It was expected that cases would be concentrated within younger age groups, as they had only been able to be vaccinated for a short time, she said.
NSW COVID-19 exposure sites by suburb updated every 15 minutes
Victorian COVID-19 exposure sites by suburb updated every 15 minutes
jack.patterson@news.com.au
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