New Covid variant: NSW Health Minister says Brett Sutton comment ‘unhelpful’

NSW’s health minister has said comments made by Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton about his state were ‘unhelpful’.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has rejected suggestions Victoria’s “worrying” new Covid variant may have originated in his state.

Earlier, Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton said authorities were investigating whether the newly-detected Delta variant – currently the dominant strain in India increasingly in the UK – was possibly picked up in NSW.

Seven cases in the Victoria outbreak have been classified as the new variant, it was revealed on Friday, with three linked to a family who travelled to Jervis Bay.

Professor Sutton said health authorities were examining if the strain originated in NSW, or even regional Victoria, where the family briefly visited.

Authorities will also look at other potential linkages to known cases, including people who have gone through formal quarantine and those in the maritime, airline and diplomatic services.

“We have to explore all avenues,” Professor Sutton said.

“The average incubation time is about six days, and that puts it in NSW, Jervis Bay territory, or indeed earlier.

“We have to be clear who the likely first case in this cluster is and then go through a really forensic process of understanding everywhere they have been, and obviously testing people they may have been in contact with, including blood tests of people who have recovered from illness.”

But Mr Hazzard said there was no evidence the family picked up the variant in NSW.

“I’ll just say it’s a bit unhelpful to go making any statements that could be either interpreted or could be mistakenly interpreted (in that way),” Mr Hazzard told 2GB.

“There is no evidence whatsoever that this family picked up the variant in NSW.”

The new Delta variant has not been found anywhere in the Australian community until now.

“It is a variant of significant concern,” Professor Sutton said early on Friday.

“It is a concern that it is not linked to other cases, but we are chasing down all those primary case contacts and looking into where it might have been acquired.”

The infectious family travelled to Jervis Bay in NSW. Picture: Supplied by The Cove

The Melbourne family of four travelled to Jervis Bay for a camping trip last month, with investigators now trying to work out where they may have picked up the new strain.

The other three new variant cases are linked to another family made up of two parents and a child.

A “significant group” of the primary close contacts linked to this cluster are from the North Melbourne Primary School community, with more than 300 primary contacts identified in that group.

The Delta variant has an incredibly high transmission risk, but the severity of the illness is still largely unknown.

North Melbourne Primary School was closed after two Covid infections were linked to the site. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Around 90 per cent of 6000 primary close contacts across the Victorian outbreak have returned negative test results so far.

Despite some positive signs in the current spread, Professor Sutton said the prospect of Melbourne easing its lockdown restrictions would be monitored daily.

“All people who have been exposed to this family, we need to understand where it has come from, whether that is in Victoria or elsewhere is to be determined,” he said.

“We had disturbing news overnight, and we just need to take every single day as it comes.”