Fairfield workers made to get Covid test every three days if leaving LGA

Residents of one Sydney council area will be subject to a strict new coronavirus rule as the city grapples with a serious outbreak.

People living in the western Sydney local government area of Fairfield who need to leave the area for work will be required to take a Covid-19 test every three days under a new public health order.

The new rule was announced on Tuesday morning as NSW recorded 89 new local coronavirus cases.

“If you live in the Fairfield local government area, you need to have regular Covid tests to demonstrate that you are Covid free, even if you don’t have symptoms,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

“The Health Minister did sign a new health order which mandates that everybody who leaves the local government area for work is tested every three days to demonstrate that they are negative.”

NEW VIRUS RULE FOR FAIRFIELD RESIDENTS

• If you need to leave Fairfield LGA for essential work, you must get a Covid-19 test every three days
• If you have symptoms, you should not leave your home at all
• You do not have to self-isolate while waiting for the test result
  

She clarified people who had symptoms should not go to work, and instead get tested and self-isolate at home.

But people in Fairfield who do not have symptoms and need to leave the area for essential work will not need to isolate.

Fairfield has emerged as a major hot spot with more than 200 local cases confirmed in the past four weeks.

Essential work is one of the four legitimate reasons for leaving home under Sydney’s lockdown rules.

People living in the western Sydney local government area of Fairfield who need to leave the area for work will be required to take a Covid-19 test every three days under a new public health order. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

“It is a measure to go and get the test. Obviously, if it turns out to be positive, our public health officials will be in contact with them almost immediately and they will then do what everybody else has had to do,” Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

Ordinarily, people who get tested for Covid-19 should self-isolate while waiting for the result to avoid spreading the virus to others in case they are positive.

People can be infected with coronavirus and risk spreading it to others even if they don’t feel any symptoms.

The government has not defined exactly what essential work is, but has said anyone who can do their work from home should do so.

The other three reasons to leave home are:

• Exercise outdoors in groups of two or fewer
• Medical care or compassionate needs. (People can leave home to have a Covid-19 vaccination unless they have been identified as a close contact)
• Shopping for essential goods and services

Nobody will be allowed to visit another person’s home until the lockdown is lifted.

The lockdown is currently slated to be in place until Friday but the government has indicated it is likely to be extended.