Coronavirus: Anglicare’s aged care facility in Sydney has over 40 coronavirus infections

More than a quarter of residents and staff at a western Sydney nursing home are infected with the deadly virus, and health authorities are scrambling.

NSW health authorities are turning their focus to stopping the spread of COVID-19 cases linked to a western Sydney nursing home where 41 people have become infected.

Anglicare’s Newmarch House in Caddens near Penrith is home to about 100 people, with 27 residents and 14 staff infected with coronavirus as of midday yesterday.

Two male residents of the high-care facility, aged 93 and 94 died over the weekend from coronavirus.

Their deaths brought the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 30.

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This nursing home is currently overrun with confirmed cases of coronavirus.

A worker with very mild symptoms entered Newmarch House six days in a row, leading Dr Chant to warn even those with minimal symptoms to avoid work and get tested.

“The rationale for that is that the implications for you introducing COVID-19 into those settings can be significant,” Dr Chant told reporters on Monday.

“We are aware that in those settings we see an amplification and spread of COVID-19 and we want to interrupt spread in those settings at the earliest possible time.”

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NSW health authorities are issuing advice in the hopes that this doesn’t happen again.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant says extensive testing has been undertaken at the facility and the focus is now on stopping the spread of the virus in the surrounding community.

But with just six new cases reported in NSW today, both Dr Chant and Premier Gladys Berejiklian said they were pleased by the low current rate of community infection but said it was too soon to relax restrictions.

Among new NSW cases on Monday was a call centre operator in Tuggerah. “We’re pleased with the trends but of course remaining consistently low is the challenge, as is making sure we reduce that community-to-community transmission - that is what can cause a flare-up,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Monday. Meanwhile, 19 more crew members of the Ruby Princess cruise ship on Monday tested positive to COVID-19, taking the total number of crew infected to 190. The ship remains docked at Port Kembla, where it will stay until at least Thursday.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Sunday thanked the community for its strong response to coronavirus restrictions as modelling done in early March came to light.

The projection examining the effect of tougher measures suggested 700 deaths and 35,000 cases would be recorded in NSW by April 15 if nothing was done.

The state government on Monday, meanwhile, pledged an additional $140 million for agricultural and primary industries in the state amid the pandemic.

“We know the agriculture and primary industry sector isn’t as impacted as others when it comes to the virus, they’re able to keep growing, employ people,” Ms Berejiklian said “They’re able to be supported, especially given the huge hit they took over summer with the bushfires.”