Coronavirus Sydney: Map shows infected taxi driver’s stops

A taxi driver drove passengers around Sydney for nine days while infected with COVID-19. Here are the areas the driver visited while infectious.

There are fears New South Wales could see an explosion of COVID-19 cases after a Sydney taxi driver worked for nine days while infected with the virus.

Contact tracers are scrambling to track down the passengers who came into contact with the 13CABS driver, with NSW Health warning people in western and southwestern Sydney to be on high alert for coronavirus symptoms.

The news that multiple people may have been infected from this one case has come as a blow to NSW residents, at a time when the state has been seeing consistently low rates of new infections.

Four new cases have been detected in the past 24 hours, with only one being locally acquired but there are fears the number of infections could spike in the coming days.

The driver worked nine shifts on September 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 while potentially infectious.

Anyone who caught a taxi on these dates in Moorebank, Bankstown, Chipping Norton, Liverpool, Lidcombe, Warwick Farm and Milperra have been told to monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if any develop.

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The taxi driver had the COVIDSafe App, which is being used to help track down their close contacts.

NSW Health is also working with 13CABS to identify the passengers who may have been exposed to the virus.

Health authorities have now identified a number of passengers who booked this taxi directly, with these people ordered to get tested and self-isolate for two weeks.

NSW Health is also looking to identify passengers who caught the Silver Service taxi on the following times and locations.

• September 8: Pick-up at Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool at 1.03pm – Drop off at Hoxton Park Road Cartwright at 1.14pm and Pick-up at Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool at 2.01pm – Drop off at Glenwari St Sadlier at 2.11pm

• September 9: Pick-up at Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool at 8.08am – Drop off at Moorebank Shopping centre, Stockton Ave Moorebank at 8.15am

• September 10: Pick-up at Liverpool at 2.38pm – Drop off at Graham Ave Casula at 2.44pm and Pick-up at Haddenham St Chipping Norton at 7.15pm – Drop off at George St Burwood at 7.48pm

• September 14: Pick-up at Riverside Road Chipping Norton at 3.50pm – Drop off at The Mill Hotel, Beaconsfield St Milperra at 4.04pm

• September 15: Pick-up at Riverside Road Chipping Norton at 8.31am – Drop off at Birnie Ave Lidcombe at 9.11am, Pick-up at Milperra at 10.14am – Drop off at Riverside Rd Chipping Norton at 10.25am and Pick-up at Birnie Ave Lidcombe at 3.22pm – Drop off at Riverside Rd Chipping Norton at 4.07pm

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The taxi driver worked for nine days while infected with COVID-19.

The driver also attended multiple venues and businesses across Sydney and the NSW South Coast.

Anyone who attended the following venues for at least one hour during the following times must immediately get tested and self-isolate for 14 days from their visit.

Anyone who attended these venues for less than an hour is considered a casual contact and should get tested if any coronavirus symptoms develop.

The venues include:

• Campbelltown Golf Club, Glen Alpine (September 16 between 2pm-4.30pm)

• Milton Ulladulla Ex Servos Club (September 12 between 2pm-6.15pm)

• Carlo’s Italian Restaurante Bar & Seafood, Ulladulla (12 September between 8pm-9.30pm)

• Bannisters Pavilion Rooftop Bar & Grill, Mollymook (September 13 between 12.30pm-2.15pm)

• Mama Wok, MacArthur Square Campbelltown (September 9 between 1.30pm-2.30pm)

Anyone who attended the following venues at the times below is also considered a casual contact:

• Picnic Point Bowling Club (September 18 between 3pm-6pm)

• Campbelltown Golf Club course Glen Alpine (September 16 between 9.30am-2pm)

• Wray St Oyster Shed Batemans Bay (September 12 between 12pm-1pm)

Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical officer, Nick Coatsworth, told ABC it would be a challenge for authorities to track down all potential contacts due to the driver visiting so many different venues in a short space of time.

“I think any situation where there is large movement of someone who has got the infection across the geographic area and across several restaurants and bars and so on and so forth, that does present challenges to public health authorities” Dr Coatsworth said on Monday morning.

“Fortunately that taxi driver had COVIDSafe installed on their phone which will be assisting contact tracers at the moment.

“They did exactly the right thing by getting themselves tested and now the public health authorities will be working overtime to make sure again that those particular cases do not turn into a larger outbreak.”

Dr Coatsworth also appeared on Nine’s Today show, where he said the incident shows how important to wear a mask in rideshare cars, taxis and on public transport.

The Project host, Lisa Wilkinson, said this new virus case exposed the “crazy” double standards that exist when it comes to businesses and contact tracing.

Unlike other businesses, taxi drivers are not required to collect customer’s details for contact tracing purposes.

Speaking on the program on Sunday night, Wilkinson said “makes sense” that taxis be required to record all passenger details the same way hospitality venues are required to do.

“You can sit in the cafe for 10 minutes and you‘ve punched in the QR code and given them your number,” Wilkinson said.

“You can sit in a taxi for an hour in even closer proximity and there‘s no accountability, which is crazy.”