Diagram shows how coronavirus spread around Sydney church

Health experts have, for a long time, been warning about how easily coronavirus spreads, but the mapping of a cluster at a Sydney church has proved just how infectious it can be.

A diagram, created by health experts studying COVID-19, has shown how easily the virus can spread.

 

Field epidemiologist and public health physician, Dr Anthea Katelaris, led the study into the coronavirus cluster at Our Lady of Lebanon church, in the western Sydney suburb of Harris Park.

The study looked at the outbreak of coronavirus at the church, which kicked off on July 18 after an 18-year-old man, a choir singer at the church, tested positive.

The teenager had sung at four church services – one on July 15, one on July 16, and two on July 17 – from a choir loft.

A diagram, posted to Twitter by Dr Katelaris, showed how coronavirus spread around the western Sydney church.

"This cluster occurred despite adherence to guidelines requiring microphone use and a three-metre cordon around singers," the study concluded.

"Guidelines for places of worship were tightened after this cluster was detected, including increasing the distance required around a singer to five metres.

"However additional mitigation measures might be necessary to prevent airborne infection during church services and singing, including increased natural or artificial ventilation moving activities outdoors."

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Updates

7:05 pm April 6, 2021

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We are signing off now, catch up on all the day's events in the posts below.

5:27 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

Man dies from coronavirus in Queensland hospital

A man from Papua New Guinea has died in a Queensland hospital after losing his battle with coronavirus.

Queensland Health said the 77-year-old man had contracted coronavirus overseas and had been receiving treatment at Redcliffe Hospital, north of Brisbane.

Health authorities attributed his death to “complications due to COVID-19”.

The man was flown from Papua New Guinea to Queensland on March 28 as his "condition was worsening".

“Since that day, he has been in ICU at Redcliffe hospital and unfortunately passed away yesterday,” Queensland Health said.

The man will not be counted in Queensland's death toll because he contracted the illness in Papua New Guinea.

Read more here

5:22 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

Diagram shows how COVID spreads

A diagram created by health experts studying COVID-19, has shown how easily the virus can spread.

Field epidemiologist and public health physician, Dr Anthea Katelaris, led the study into the coronavirus cluster at Our Lady of Lebanon church, in the western Sydney suburb of Harris Park.

The study looked at the outbreak of coronavirus at the church, which kicked off on July 18 after an 18-year-old man, a choir singer at the church, tested positive.

The teenager had sung at four church services – one on July 15, one on July 16, and two on July 17 – from a choir loft.

A diagram, posted to Twitter by Dr Katelaris, showed how coronavirus spread around the western Sydney church.

Here's our report on a #COVID19 cluster in a church in Sydney.

We think transmission is best explained by airborne spread, likely facilitated by singing + low ventilation + a primary case near peak infectiousness. 1/2https://t.co/cs3GEmXx0P pic.twitter.com/g14eF0HpIB

— Dr Anthea Katelaris (@AntheaKatelaris) April 5, 2021

"We believe that transmission during this outbreak is best explained by airborne spread, potentially the result of three factors," the study concluded.

"First, singing has been demonstrated to generate more respiratory aerosol particles and droplets than talking.

"Second, minimal ventilation might have enabled respiratory particles to accumulate in the air, and convection currents might have carried particles toward the pews where secondary case-patients were seated.

"Third, the primary case-patient was likely near the peak of infectiousness on the basis of low Ct values and symptom onset occurring around the exposure dates.

"This cluster occurred despite adherence to guidelines requiring microphone use and a three-metre cordon around singers.

"Guidelines for places of worship were tightened after this cluster was detected, including increasing the distance required around a singer to five metres.

"However additional mitigation measures might be necessary to prevent airborne infection during church services and singing, including increased natural or artificial ventilation moving activities outdoors."

4:00 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

Vaccinations 'on track' despite slow rollout

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has insisted Australia's vaccination program is on track, saying there's a "pure and simple" explanation why things have been moving slowly.

Mr Morrison said as of April 5, around 854,983 doses had been administered. Of those, 280,943 had been done through GP clinics.

Mr Morrison said he was meeting with state and territory leaders on Friday to discuss having more transparency around the nation's vaccine program.

"The challenges Australia has had has been a supply problem. It is pure and simple," the PM said.

"There was over three million doses from overseas that never came.

"And that's obviously resulted in an inability to get three million overdoses out and distributed through the network.

"I think it is really important that these points are made very clearly when we are talking about the rollout of the vaccine.

"Now, as CSL are ramping up their production and their systems are becoming even more efficient as they get into the rhythm of their production systems, there is also the approvals that they must follow once batches are produced.

"That involves both AstraZeneca internationally, it involves the TGA batch testing as well.

"It is not just a matter of having the vaccine approved initially by the TGA, they have to test the batches as well.

"That is about Australia's safety, and I don't intend to rush the process and put people's health at risk.

"So the capacity to distribute, the capacity to administer, the production of the vaccines are starting to increase.

"And as that occurs in the weeks ahead, then we will see ourselves progressively working through what is a very large group of people who are needing to be vaccinated."

3:52 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

Scott Morrison praises trans-Tasman bubble

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is speaking in Canberra after his New Zealand counterpart announced the trans-Tasman travel bubble between the two nations.

"This is the first of many more steps to come, I believe, as we get back to a more normal position, not only over the course of this year but beyond," Mr Morrison said.

"We have ensured that both our countries have been, despite dealing with the virus, have not suffered the same types of virus impacts that we have seen in so many other countries around the world.

"And the fact that we can now combine again will mean jobs, will mean people reunited.

"It will be many opportunities as those normal relations are restored between Australia and New Zealand. And so, I very much appreciate the arrangement the New Zealand government has come to today, we welcome them back as indeed Kiwis will be welcoming Aussies.

"All in time for Anzac Day also, which is tremendous, to see that occur in the true Anzac spirit of our two nations coming together again."

2:50 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

Pre-flight test still under discussion

Trans-Tasman travellers may need to present a negative coronavirus test before getting on a flight.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said both nations were still finalising the issue.

"We are flagging today it is something potentially we may ask for depending on the health situation within Queensland at the time and we will make that final call next Wednesday," she said.

"The Director-General will give us his health assessment on whether or not pre-departure testing is something we may require.

"It is already in the framework though.

"One of the responses that we may require as part of travel at any given time, depending on need, could be a pre-departure test.

"But what we're saying for most states from April 19, we're not expecting it with a caveat to Queensland."

2:38 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

How trans-Tasman bubble will operate

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has detailed how both nations will respond to potential coronavirus outbreaks.

Ms Ardern said the New Zealand government had three potential responses when it comes to flights and border access.

The three stages are continue, pause or suspend.

• Continue – "If a case is found that is quite clearly linked to a border worker in a quarantine facility and is well contained, you'll likely see travel continue in the same way as you could see life continue if that happened in Australia", Ms Ardern said.
• Pause – "If, however, a case was found that was not clearly linked to the border, and a state responded by a short lockdown to identify more information, we'd likely pause flights from that state in the same way we would stop travel into and out of a region in New Zealand as if it was were going into a full lockdown", Ms Ardern said.
• Suspend – "If we saw multiple cases of unknown origin, we would likely suspend flights for a set period of time," the PM added.

Ms Ardern also said a number of other measures were in place for Australia and New Zealand.

Any crew operating flights between Australia and New Zealand will "have not flown on any high-risk routes for a set period of time".

Passengers will need to provide comprehensive information on how they can be contacted while in New Zealand.

Masks will be required on flights and people will not be able to travel if they have cold or flu symptoms.

Authorities at New Zealand's airports will also be conducting random temperature checks as an extra precaution.

2:10 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

Ardern warns 'flyer beware' to trans-Tasman travellers

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is encouraging Kiwis and Aussies to travel but warned those hoping to holiday that they could face quickly changing restrictions.

"While quarantine-free travel to Australia and vice versa will start in a fortnight, it will not be what it was pre-COVID," she said.

"While we absolutely wish to encourage family and friends to reunite and visitors to come and enjoy the hospitality New Zealand is ready and waiting to offer, those undertaking travel on either side of the ditch will do so under the guidance of flyer beware.

"People will need to plan for the possibility of travel being disrupted if there is an outbreak.

"But for those planning ahead we want to share as much information as we can about our decision-making.

"In many ways we will treat Australia as a region of our own when making decisions on restrictions, albeit one with the complication of multiple international borders."

2:06 pm April 6, 2021 Highlight

New Zealand travel bubble announced

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced the long-awaited trans-Tasman bubble.

Quarantine-free travel between Australia and New Zealand will commence from 11.59pm on Sunday, April 18.

1:44 pm April 6, 2021

17 COVID cases in NZ quarantine

New Zealand has recorded 17 new COVID-19 cases in international arrivals since Sunday.

The country recorded no locally acquired cases.

New Zealand's Ministry of Health said these numbers highlight the value of having day 0 and day 1 testing in place, with 13 out of the 17 cases identified this way.

"All people arriving in New Zealand must remain in their rooms until those day 0/1 test results come back," the Ministry of Health said.

"It’s also not uncommon to see some of the day 0/1 cases to be reclassified as historical cases, which are not infectious.

"While the number of cases in managed isolation over the last 2 days is higher than in previous days, the average number of cases per day over the past week remains steady at four. Some of these cases are also contacts of known cases."