The number of coronavirus cases linked to a Sydney pub has jumped from five to nine this afternoon.
In a media release NSW Health said four new cases had been confirmed today and were directly linked to the hotel.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said it was "critically important" that anybody who visited the south Sydney pub at the centre of the new cluster self-isolates for 14 days, and seeks a test.
“Anyone who was at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula in south-west Sydney between the dates of the 3 July and the 10 July, anyone who visited that particular venue, you are required to self isolate until 14 days after your visit," Dr Coatsworth said today.
“Furthermore, if you were at that particular pub between July 3 and July 10, you are strongly encouraged to get tested, regardless of your symptoms.
Victoria reported 273 new cases of coronavirus today, while NSW reported five new cases of the virus, Western Australia reported one case and Queensland and South Australia reported zero new cases. A man in his 70s also died overnight in Victoria, taking the national death toll to 108.
It comes as another cluster of eight coronavirus cases was recorded among staff at The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.
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More details on pub cases
An additional four cases of COVID-19 have been directly linked to a Sydney pub.
The nine cases now linked to the Crossroads Hotel at Casula include,
a South Western Sydney teenager who worked at the hotel on several days including 3 July
a close contact of this worker, a South Western Sydney woman in her 50s
a South Western Sydney woman in her 40s who had dinner at the hotel on 3 July
a Victorian man in his 20s who had dinner at the hotel on 3 July
NSW Health is urging anyone who attended the Crossroads Hotel at Casula between Friday 3 July and Friday 10 July to:
immediately self-isolate until 14 days after they were last there
attend a clinic for testing even if they have no symptoms
watch for symptoms and get retested should any respiratory symptoms occur
even if you get a negative test stay in isolation for 14 days.
Road trip costs Victorians $24,000
A busload of Victorians have copped a $24,000 fine over an audacious attempt to cross the Queensland border illegally.
The group of six is accused of lying on their border declaration forms to get into the Sunshine State in a minivan.
Police say the passengers hopped out and tried crossing the border on foot but officers spotted them.
When the officers checked their phones, location settings and photos revealed they’d been in Victoria within the past 14 days. They were fined $4000 each bringing the total cost of the road trip to $24,000.
Seven News spoke to some of the Victorians, who seem to have taken the experience on the chin.
“100 per cent we definitely knew we were breaking the rules,” one of the fined travellers said. “Money doesn’t run the world it’s all good,” another added.
Queensland opened its borders to other states on Friday. However, Victoria is still excluded.
Picture: 7News
Queenslanders warned over Sydney pub
The concern is so great over a Sydney pub outbreak that the Queensland government has put out a public health alert.
The Crossroads Hotel, located in the South Western Sydney suburb of Casula, is the hub for nine known COVID-19 cases.
Because it is on a busy highway and used by truckers, it is feared cases may have spread further afield.
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the outbreak was concerning.
“Any Queenslanders who have been to the Crossroads Hotel from July 3 to July 10 inclusive should get COVID-19 tested as soon as possible and then immediately self-isolate,” he said.
“The hotel is a busy stopover for many travellers, so it is very likely that there are a number of Queenslanders who have been there during this period.”
Birthday party raided by cops
Victoria Police has handed out 119 fines to people breaching coronavirus directions in the last 24 hours.
They have given some examples.
Nine people gathered for a 30th birthday party at a private residence in Caulfield were fined.
They said there were "numerous incidents where people have been stopped on their way to visit friends or have been hosting gatherings at private properties".
There have also been 51 infringement notes issued at vehicle checkpoints.
In the last 24 hours, there were 17,133 vehicles stopped at checkpoints on main arterial roads and there were 1086 spot checks on people at homes, business and public places across the state.
Victoria's outbreaks grow
The Victorian government has given a break down of where some of the state's 273 new cases have been detected.
Four cases have been linked to LaManna Supermarket Essendon
Two cases have been linked to Linfox Distribution Centre Truganina
Six cases have been linked to Cenvic Construction Riverina Apartments in Footscray
11 cases have been linked to Somerville Meats
Four cases have been linked to JBS Abattoir in Brooklyn
Two cases have been linked to Box Hill Hospital
11 cases have been linked to Brunswick Private Hospital
Eight cases have been linked to the Alfred Hospital
11 cases have been linked to Menarock Life Aged Care Facility.
12 cases have been linked to Glendale Aged Care Facility in Werribee.
Sydney pub cluster jumps to nine
The number of coronavirus cases linked to a Sydney pub has jumped to nine this afternoon, as health authorities urge everyone who attended the pub to self-isolate and get tested.
In a media release NSW Health said four new cases had been confirmed today and were directly linked to the hotel.
Those four new cases included:
-A south west Sydney teenager who worked at the hotel on several days including July 3
-A close contact of that worker, a south west Sydney woman in her 50s
-A south west Sydney woman in her 40s who had dinner at the hotel on July 3
-A Victorian man in his 20s who had dinner at the hotel on 3 July
PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT
Anyone who attended the Crossroads Hotel Casula between Friday 3 – 10 July should immediately self-isolate until 14 days after they were last there, get tested even if they have no symptoms and stay in isolation for 14 days even if your test is negative. pic.twitter.com/vzLguInzy6
These four new cases are in addition to the five cases previously reported, which included a woman in her 30s from south west Sydney, and a man in his 50s from the Blue Mountains.
Three of the man from the Blue Mountains household contacts have also tested positive for COVID-19.
This takes the total number of cases linked to the hotel to nine, NSW Health said in a statement.
ACT implements tighter visitor restrictions for hospitals
The ACT is returning to tighter restrictions at its hospitals and health care centres in response to the second spike in cases in Victoria, and a number of new cases in the ACT.
From tomorrow, patients at centres and hospitals in the ACT will be limited to:
-Having one visitor per patient, per day
-Babies, children and young people between the ages of 0-17 will have one parent or carer, and one additional visitor for up to one hour a day
-Women admitted for birthing can have up to two support people present
-Visitors will have to adhere to social distancing requirements and children and young people are urged to avoid healthcare facilities
"Staff have been asked to use compassion and common sense to ensure you receive the support you need," the ACT Government said in a statement.
South Australia reports zero new virus cases
South Australia has reported zero new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours.
This leaves the state's total number of virus cases at 443.
In South Australia, there are zero patients in hospital and zero active cases of coronavirus.
Four people in the state have died from coronavirus, and 439 have recovered.
Yesterday, SA Health conducted 1347 tests for the virus.
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer said it would be “significant” for NSW to find itself in the same position as Victoria — but the state is working with Federal Health to put out "spot fires".
“It would be a very significant event for NSW were to move towards the outbreak of a scale that it is in Victoria at the moment," Dr Coatsworth said this afternoon.
“We share the concern of the NSW Premier, which is why we are meeting on a daily basis to assist the Chief health officers of both states in developing their strategies and making sure that the small spot fires that have occurred in south-west Sydney are put out as quickly as possible.”
Deputy Chief Medical Officer is speaking on the COVID-19 situation
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth is providing an update on the coronavirus situation.
Dr Coatsworth has said it's "critically important" that anybody who visited a south Sydney pub at the centre of a new coronavirus cluster self-isolates for 14 days, and seeks out a test.
“Anyone who is at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula in south-west Sydney between the dates of the July 3 and July 10, anyone who visited that particular venue, you are required to self isolate until 14 days after your visit," Dr Coatsworth said.
“Furthermore, if you were at that particular pub between the July 3 and July 10, you are strongly encouraged to get tested, regardless of your symptoms.
"This is because that venue is currently the hub of the public health investigation into the small cluster in south-west Sydney emanating from the Crossroads hotel.
Dr Coatsworth said there's been a total of 108 coronavirus deaths in Australia to date, including another death in Victoria overnight.
He said the number of cases reported in the last 24 hours was 279, and — 273 of which were reported in Victoria. Five cases were reported in NSW.
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