Covid-19 Australia: Virgin Australia confirms positive case of coronavirus
Virgin Australia has confirmed a Sydney-based cabin crew member has tested positive to Covid-19, and revealed the five flights they flew on.
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Virgin Australia has issued a statement confirming that a Sydney-based cabin crew member has tested positive to Covid-19.
Health authorities are contacting any passenger who has been in close contact with the crew member.
According to the airline, the crew member always wore a face mask while onboard and when interacting with the public and adhered to infection control and COVID safe protocols implemented by Virgin Australia throughout the course of duty.
Statement: Virgin Australia can confirm that a Sydney-based cabin crew member has tested positive to COVID-19. Health authorities are contacting any guest who has been in close contact with the crew member.
— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) June 26, 2021
All information and impacted flight numbers: https://t.co/ojSobJ9DJj
The crew member tested positive after undertaking a rapid result test on Saturday night.
State and Federal health authorities have been notified.
The crew member is now in isolation, and Virgin Australia is rapidly contacting all team members who are close contacts.
Virgin Australia is requiring those crew members to cease flying immediately, get tested and isolate, according to the statement.
All passengers on flights the crew member operated will be contacted by health authorities and advised on the correct protocol.
The aircraft the infected crew member flew on are being deep cleaned overnight, as are any Virgin Australia spaces the crew member visited.
Virgin Australia is working with the relevant airports to ensure all public spaces are also being deep cleaned.
The statement revealed that the affected crew member is a close contact of a positive Covid-19 case from a Sydney cluster but were not aware of that positive case until today.
Virgin Australia affected flights:
NSW Health advises that five flights on which the crew member flew from 24 June are of concern.
25 June 2021
VA939 Sydney-Brisbane
VA334 Brisbane-Melbourne
26 June 2021
VA827 Melbourne-Sydney
VA517 Sydney-Gold Coast
VA524 Gold Coast-Sydney
The crew member had an overnight layover in Melbourne on 25 June, staying at the Holiday Inn Express Southbank.
Virgin Australia advised that QR Codes for all relevant locations will be made available to health authorities for the purpose of contact tracing, and passenger flight manifests have been provided to all of the relevant health authorities.
NSW FACES ‘SCARIEST’ PERIOD OF PANDEMIC
NSW will not be plunged into lockdown despite the state battling a growing Covid Delta cluster, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
“Since the pandemic has started this is perhaps the scariest period that New South Wales is going through,” Ms Berejiklian said on Thursday.
“It is a very contagious variant but at the same time we are, at this stage, comfortable that the settings that are in place are the appropriate settings, but that is so long as everybody does the right thing.”
Eleven new Covid-19 cases were recorded in NSW on Thursday including a mystery case not yet linked to the Bondi cluster or a known case.
Eighteen cases were detected in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday night, but 13 had already been reported on Tuesday.
A further six cases were recorded, taking the total number of new cases to 11.
The five new cases detected to 8pm Wednesday night include two women and a man from Sydney’s south west who are linked to a West Hoxton birthday party attended by previously reported cases linked to the Bondi cluster.
A teenager from Sydney’s eastern suburbs has also tested positive, linked to the Bondi cluster. A woman in her 20s from the Eastern Suburbs has also tested positive. She is a close contact of a previous case, reported The Daily Telegraph.
There are now 36 cases linked to the Bondi cluster.
VICTORIA RECORDS THIRD LOCAL CASE
A close contact of a Victorian man who flew home from Sydney has now also tested positive for coronavirus.
Earlier on Thursday an Oakleigh man in his 60s diagnosed with Covid became Victoria’s first case linked to the NSW outbreak.
Now the man’s only workplace close contact, the owner of Melbourne’s Sandringham Dry Cleaners, has also tested positive to coronavirus, the ABC reports.
The first man had attended his daughter’s house in a green zone in Sydney at a social event on Saturday night – a party that’s been deemed a superspreader event.
He arrived in Melbourne on Sunday on a 5.30pm flight from Sydney and caught public transport home from the airport.
The man began showing symptoms about 10pm on Tuesday and was tested on Wednesday.
Authorities both men are being interviewed and a full public health response is under way and their cases will be recorded in tomorrow’s coronavirus tally.
The second man’s family are now in isolation and are also undergoing testing, while the drying cleaning business is closed for deep cleaning.
QR code data from the business is currently being analysed by authorities so that more contacts can be identified, the Department of Human Services and Health Victoria confirmed in a statement.
The other local case recorded earlier on Thursday was a known primary close contact linked to the Kings Park complex. That person has been quarantining throughout their infectious period.
Three cases were also acquired from overseas, all of which are in hotel quarantine.
Health Minister Martin Foley said given the patterns of the Delta variant spreading around Sydney, the government was taking a “conservative approach” and working on the basis the man had the same strain.
“This is a rapidly developing situation in NSW and we are acting quickly to make sure that Victoria stays secure and safe to the threat that is posed by this Delta variant,” he said.
Mr Foley said the public health team acted quickly and had already established his primary close contacts.
Despite the latest two cases, an easing of restrictions in on track for Victoria at 11.59pm Thursday.
Under the changes, crowds will return to community and professional sport, there’ll be an increase of people allowed at indoor and outdoor gatherings and an increase of patron caps at hospitality venues.
However, masks must still be worn indoors.
The recommendation for face masks to be worn outdoors where 1.5m social distancing can’t be maintained also still applies.
Dance floors at weddings and nightclubs was another restriction that was unchanged, with nightclubs and karaoke venues only able to open for seated service.
Melburnians can return to offices up to 75 per cent capacity or 30 people per workplace and the cap on spectators at community sport will be 1000.
Theatres will initially open at 50 per cent capacity, with up to 1000 people, and this weekend crowds can attend public events and outdoor stadiums with a limit of 50 per cent or up to 25,000 people.
Another easing of restrictions has also been flagged for July 1, taking Victoria back to the settings it had before the outbreak started.
MP TESTS COVID POSITIVE
One of the new cases in NSW is the state’s Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall, who has tested positive and forced into isolation alongside three other Nationals MPs.
Mr Marshall, Trevor Khan, Steph Cooke and Ben Franklin all had dinner together on Monday night at a Paddington restaurant in Sydney’s east, and were soon deemed casual contacts.
Mr Marshall confirmed he had been formally advised by NSW Health “just after 8am” on Thursday.
“I have been in isolation in Sydney since late Tuesday night, when I received a text message from NSW Health advising of my attendance at a close contact venue on Monday evening, and the need to present for testing,” he said in a statement.
“To everyone who has contacted me this morning, thank you for your thoughts and well wishes – I’m doing fine and will continue to strictly follow the advice of health authorities.
“To our wonderful NSW Health staff, who continue to do an amazing job in these challenging times, thank you for your support and efforts keeping all of us safe and well.”
Meanwhile, the state’s Health Minister has come out of isolation after testing negative.
Brad Hazzard was identified as a close contact of a “possible” Covid-19 case who he had interacted with at Parliament House.
Mr Hazzard, who stood next to Premier Gladys Berejiklian at a press conference on Wednesday, said he didn’t believe the premier was exposed to the virus.
“I think the premier is fairly safe,” he said, emphasising that he is “just being careful and taking health advice.”
NEW QUEENSLAND CASE
Queensland has recorded three new locally acquired cases of Covid-19, all linked to the flight attendant who contracted the virus in hotel quarantine.
The manager of the Portuguese Family Centre at Ellen Grove confirmed to NCA NewsWire he tested positive after a woman in her 30s dined at the restaurant on Saturday night before learning she had the virus.
He tested negative on his first test after being identified as a close contact, but began developing symptoms on Wednesday. He was taken to hospital on Wednesday night where further tests revealed he was positive, he told NCA NewsWire.
The man said he had been in home isolation since Sunday, when he was contacted by health authorities. He has not been vaccinated but was “feeling better” on Thursday morning.
Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young confirmed two further close contacts have also since tested positive, who had both been “out and about” with the woman in Brisbane on Saturday and were immediately sent into hotel quarantine that night.
The woman arrived in Brisbane from Portugal and quarantined for two weeks at the Four Points Hotel, where she contracted the Alpha variant from another guest staying at the hotel who had arrived from Mongolia.
Health authorities believe a fully vaccinated quarantine staff member transported the virus between the two guests.
Dr Young said on Thursday she wasn’t concerned that any of the three cases “are a risk to the Queensland community”.
“I’m not concerned with that outbreak in that we now do have everyone in quarantine that we believe was at risk,” she said.
“We have to remember, that was the Alpha variant, so far less infectious than the Delta variant we’re seeing circulating in Sydney.
“We have seen how rapidly in just one week that has taken off in Sydney. We have to be alert.”
STATES SLAM SHUT AS SYDNEY OUTBREAK SPREADS
State borders around Australia have been shut to NSW and five millions Sydneysiders face tough new restrictions after a surge in the number of Covid-19 cases.
Queensland closed its borders to Sydney on Wednesday, along with the surrounding regions.
Victoria, which has just emerged from a strict lockdown, has also stopped travel from the seven local government “red zones” – Sydney, Woollahra, Randwick, Waverley, Inner West, Bayside and Canada Bay – as has South Australia.
The NSW government has not ruled out a lockdown of the city, with health officials perturbed the cluster is fast spreading out of its eastern suburbs epicentre.
Travel from the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour was restricted from 1am, while Sydneysiders and residents of the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour are now required to wear masks in all non-residential indoor settings and the number of household visitors is limited to five, including children.
Residents of seven local government areas were also banned from leaving the city for non-essential regions.
It comes as NSW is shut off from WA and SA, with both states imposing hard borders.
South Australia’s border with most of NSW was immediately shut on Wednesday afternoon.
People living in far western NSW areas including Wentworth and Broken Hill are the only ones exempt.
Returning residents, people relocating to SA and those fleeing domestic violence can cross state lines but must quarantine for 14 days.
NSW was elevated to a “medium risk” jurisdiction” by WA, with travel from NSW to WA banned, except for a small number of exempt travellers and WA residents that are returning home.
Exempt travellers must self quarantine for 14 days, get tested within 48 hours of their arrival, if they develop symptoms while in isolation and again on day 11.
The news comes after it was revealed a child who attended a daycare centre 60km southwest of Sydney tested positive to Covid-19.
NEW SYDNEY RESTRICTIONS
Visitors to households in Sydney will be limited to 5 guests – including children
– Masks will be compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces, and at organised outdoor events
– Drinking while standing at indoor venues will not be allowed
– Singing by audiences at indoor shows or by congregants at indoor places of worship will not be allowed
– Dancing will not be allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs however, dancing is allowed at weddings for the bridal party only (no more than 20 people)
– Dance and gym classes limited to 20 per class (masks must be worn)
The one person per four square metre rule will be reintroduced for all indoor and outdoor settings, including weddings and funerals
– Outdoor seated events will be limited to 50 per cent seated capacity
– Previous public transport capacity limits, represented by green dots, will be reintroduced
– If you live or work in the City of Sydney, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West, Bayside, and Woollahra local government areas, you cannot travel outside metropolitan Sydney for non-essential travel
WELLINGTON FLIGHT ALERT
The new cases numbers came after a Woolworths store, a popular restaurant in Bondi and two international flights were put on alert as exposure sites continue to grow.
Sydney is grappling with a new cluster which ballooned to 21 on Tuesday and has sparked a swath of venue alerts.
The latest include Totti’s Bondi, a Woolworths store in Spring Farm and two flights between Sydney and Wellington.
Any passengers on board the following flights are considered close contacts and must get tested and go into self-isolation for 14 days, regardless of the results.
Sydney to Wellington: QF163 (Qantas) June 18 departing Sydney at 7.05pm and arriving in Wellington at 12.12am, June 19.
Wellington to Sydney: NZ247 (Air New Zealand) June 21 departing Wellington at 10.13am and arriving in Sydney at 11.33am.
Diners who went to Totti’s Bondi (inside the Royal Bondi) on June 19 between 5pm and 6.30pm are also considered close contacts.
NSW Health issued the alert late on Tuesday which also featured two other businesses which were added to the hot spot list.
Anyone at the following locations are considered a casual contact and must get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
‘ROOM TO ROOM’ TRANSMISSION
Health authorities have revealed guests in Queensland’s hotel quarantine have been infected by room-to-room transmission and have been forced to reclassify overseas cases as locally acquired.
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young said her team had initially sourced the cases identified at the Novotel Brisbane Airport earlier in the month as being acquired overseas, but further investigations proved Brisbane facilities had once again been exposed to passing infections in corridors.
“A few days ago, we did have a few cases that were reported as hotel assessed and found in hotel quarantine, but now that we’ve got the genome sequencing back we know that there’s been transmission from one room to another room,” she told reporters on Wednesday morning.
“This is on floor five of the Brisbane Airport Novotel (where) we had two people in one room and one person in the room adjacent.
“That person in the room adjacent tested positive first and then two days later the couple, the two people in the adjacent room, tested positive.
“At the time we thought it was just overseas acquired, but now that I’ve got the genome sequencing back, it’s clear that the first person has given it to the other two people.”
Both cases are older infections that have been reclassified as locally acquired, with the couple arriving in quarantine on June 8 and the individual in the adjacent room beginning quarantine on June 10.
“But they immediately became positive and then later the couple became positive,” Dr Young said.
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Originally published as Covid-19 Australia: Virgin Australia confirms positive case of coronavirus
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