Coronavirus NSW: Alert for 180,000 Sydney residents after COVID fragments found in sewage

Warnings have been issued for more than 180,000 Sydney residents after COVID-19 fragments were found at a major sewage treatment plant.

COVID-19 fragments found in one of Sydney’s major sewage treatment plants has caused concern among healths officials, prompting calls for residents to go and get tested immediately.

Traces of the virus were found at a facility in Liverpool, which takes in a catchment of close to 180,000 people.

It has sparked fresh fears that the virus is circulating undetected within the community.

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The plant services dozens of suburbs and NSW Health has warned people in these areas to be on very high alert.

“NSW Health urges everyone living or working in these suburbs to monitor for symptoms and get tested and isolate immediately if they appear,” NSW Health said.

The suburbs include:

• Bardia

• Hinchinbrook

• Hoxton Park

• Abbotsbury
• Ingleburn

• Prestons

• Holsworthy

• Edmondson Park

• Austral

• Cecil Park

• Cecil Hills

• Elizabeth Hills

• Bonnyrigg Heights

• Edensor Park

• Green Valley

• Pleasure Point

• Casula

• Hammondville

• Liverpool

• Moorebank

• Wattle Grove

• Miller

• Cartwright

• Lurnea
• Warwick Farm

• Chipping Norton

• Voyager Point

• Macquarie Links

• Glenfield

• Catherine Field

• Gledswood Hills

• Varroville

• Leppington

• West Hoxton

• Horningsea Park

• Middleton Grange

• Len Waters Estate

• Carnes Hill

• Denham Court

The warning came as NSW recorded no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

The state has now recorded nine days in a row of no community transmission. There were two cases detected in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.

However, there were just 7800 tests conducted yesterday and health officials are concerned about the rapid drop in testing rates.

“The drop in testing numbers is a concern,” NSW Health said in a statement.

“Although NSW has had nine days without a diagnosed locally acquired case of COVID-19, the virus may still be circulating in the community and now is not the time to drop our guard.”