Coronavirus NSW: Man’s death at Bankstown aged care linked to COVID-19

The COVID-19 toll in New South Wales has passed 50 after a man’s death at an aged care home in April was reclassified.

The death toll from COVID-19 in New South Wales has risen to 51.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant announced the new death on Wednesday.

However, she said the 85-year-old man who was a resident at an aged care facility in Bankstown had died on April 27 but had only now been linked to the coronavirus.

“The change follows new national guidance on the classification of deaths and means NSW has now recorded 51 deaths from COVID-19,” NSW Health said in a statement this morning.

“The man was a resident of Opal Aged Care, Bankstown, and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on 7 April. Sadly, he passed away on 27 April, after two negative swabs had been recorded.”

Dr Chant said the “small outbreak” at the facility involved about three staff and three patients.

“The clinical treating doctor diagnosed COVID as contributing and so in accordance with the national guidelines, we’ve included that as a death and that has been updated,” she said.

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Opal Care Bankstown aged care facility in western Sydney. Picture: Richard Dobson

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NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said there were four new cases recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday.

Three of those are travellers in quarantine and the fourth is a seven-year-old child from Lane Cove West Public School.

The school closed today for a deep clean and close contacts are being contacted and isolated.

“Fortuitously, their (the student’s) symptoms actually came on on a Saturday so hopefully there was no transmission at the school,” Mr Hazzard said on Thursday.

“The great news is the community in NSW are just fantastic, for three days in a row we’ve had more than 17,000 tests.”

There have been 3162 cases of the coronavirus recorded in the state and 2776 have recovered.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said there is ongoing transmission of the virus in NSW. Picture: James Gourley/AAP

He was asked about the spike in cases in Melbourne and said “care, caution and vigilance” were necessary.

“At various points, NSW has had far more cases than Victoria and Victoria certainly didn’t close their border on us,” he said.

Mr Hazzard said people living in the state should not be expect to be “completely insulated” from local transmission of the virus, noting the Sydney school case was evidence of that.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced 33 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Seven of those are in hotel quarantine, nine are from known outbreaks, six are from routine testing and 11 are still under investigation.

A “testing blitz” in 10 suburbs was also announced.

“Obviously Victoria is having some major issues, particularly in Melbourne hot spots at the moment,” Mr Hazzard said.

“This is no time for NSW residents to be complacent or cocky.”

He urged NSW residents not to visit Victoria and asked Victorians not to travel to regional NSW or Sydney.