Coronavirus Sydney: Virus alert for Bunnings’ shoppers

A Bunnings employee who later tested positive for coronavirus worked for three days at a major Sydney store sparking an urgent health alert.

Any customer who visited a large Sydney Bunnings store over three days last week is being urged to check for even mild symptoms after a COVID alert.

A staff member at the Bunnings store on Kellicar Rd, Campbelltown, in the city’s south west, has tested positive for coronavirus. The store is close to the large Macarthur Square shopping centre.

The employee worked at Bunnings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week potentially while infectious.

Close contacts among staff members have been identified and are self-isolating, as is the employee.

NSW Health has asked customers to be on the lookout for even mild symptoms and if they crop up to get tested and isolate.

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The Bunnings store in Campbelltown at the corner of Kellicar Rd and Bugden Pl. Picture: Google.

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Customers that visited the Campbelltown Bunnings branch on the following days between the following times should pay particular attention to their health:

• Tuesday 4 August from 11am to 7pm

• Wednesday 5 August from 8am to 4pm

• Thursday 6 August from 1pm to 3pm.

The employee wore a mask during their shifts and practised social distancing, NSW Health said. It is understood the staff member was self isolating when they received the positive test result as they are a contact of another cases.

In a statement Bunnings’ Chief Operating Office Debbie Poole said the firm was doing “everything it could” to support the team member.

“The team member last worked in store on Thursday and, importantly, was wearing a face mask – as all our Campbelltown team have been `since 25 July,” she said.

“The health and safety of our team members and customers is our absolute focus and we’ve got incredibly comprehensive protocols for hygiene and cleaning during COVID-19 across our whole store network developed in conjunction with advice from health authorities.”

Ms Poole said the store had undergone two deep cleans since the team member last worked.

“And, as a precaution we’re completing an additional deep clean.”

The store will open as usual on Sunday.

On Saturday, NSW Health said nine new cases of coronavirus had been identified in the state in the 24 hours up to 8pm on Friday. It’s the lowest number of new infections in the state for two weeks.

The Bunnings employee is not among them.

Of the nine, three are still under investigation with no known source, and two of these patients are close contacts of each other.

Four were locally acquired and close contacts of known cases, and just two were returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

Nine new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3,662.

Two are returned international travellers. Four were locally acquired, all close contacts of known cases, and three are under investigation with no known source. pic.twitter.com/xEaWvHVitu

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 8, 2020

“One of today’s cases is a student of Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook” Deputy Chief Health Officer Jeremy McAnulty said on Saturday.

“The school has been closed for cleaning and contact tracing is continuing. The source of infection is under investigation.”

The number comes as patrons of Burrow Bar, in the Sydney CBD, on Saturday August 1 are ordered into two-weeks isolation, starting immediately.

“If you attended for two hours or more between 9.45pm-midnight, you should get tested, and isolate until August 15, even if the test is negative,” a statement from NSW Health read.

“If symptoms develop, get tested again.”

There are currently 107 COVID-19 cases being treated by NSW Health.

Nine patients are in intensive care, and six of these are ventilated.