How the northern beaches cluster spread to Sydney’s Paddington

Before the northern beaches went into lockdown, this is how a trip to work led to the virus spreading to inner Sydney.

EXCLUSIVE

On the morning a hairdresser was about to unknowingly take COVID-19 from the northern beaches to the boutique eastern Sydney suburb of Paddington, they went out for breakfast.

It was Wednesday, December 16 and the hair stylist left home and drove to Pronto Creative Foods, a popular Italian cafe on Barrenjoey Road.

Stopping after 7.30am, they then travelled 40km to inner suburban Sydney and one of its most fashionable strips, William Street in Paddington.

There they started work at Salon X, working on clients including a woman who worked at Alimentari Cafe, four doors down.

By the end of the appointment, the woman will have contracted COVID-19 and then walked it back to Alimentari, a highly regarded Italian eatery which along with Salon X had scrupulously kept itself safe during lockdown, including temporarily shutting business off to customers.

They were innocent people who had no idea they had the virus but such is its nature, COVID-19 spreads silently and quickly.

The northern beaches coronavirus cluster which was to curtail Christmas for citizens across NSW appears to have started in Avalon or possibly Belrose, after breaking out of hotel quarantine in Sydney.

It would spread from the northern peninsula of Sydney, as coronavirus does, in insidious and persistent ways.

According to Avalon’s Anytime Fitness Facebook page, one of the earliest COVID-19 cases on the northern beaches “was present in club from the 6th of December dating up until and including the 17th December”.

NSW Health in fact cites Anytime Fitness at Belrose, in the lower northern beaches and 25km south of its northern neighbour as an infection site as early as December 6.

However, NSW Chief Health Offiucer Kerry Chant told a news conference on Sunday that “Patient Zero” for infection at the Avalon RSL had not yet been identified.

The virus spread up to the northern beaches and then back down again, to inner suburban Paddington. Picture: Google

An person who didn’t realise they were infected stopped for a morning break at Pronto Cafe in Palm Beach. Picture: Google

After working at Salon X, Paddington to attend a female client, she became infected. Picture: Google

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But it would be the description of a coronavirus-spreading couple from Palm Beach, the furthest of all the northern beaches, which would force the fitness club to angrily deny a baseless rumour.

On the evening of December 15, NSW Health described an anonymous northern beaches couple – the woman in her 60 and the man in his 70s – as virus infected visitors to several locations.

An unnamed official complained to The Australian newspaper that the couple had taken “a long time to track down”, had not isolated and were “divorced but living under the same roof”.

Despite the fact they are not divorced, don’t live up there and don’t have coronavirus, film stars Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward materialised as the supposed couple in a baseless rumour.

The totally invented story had an Anytime Fitness, Avalon personal trainer visiting the famous pair to train them at their non-existent Avalon or Palm Beach home.

The famous couple, who live in inner-western Sydney but starred in a movie Palm Beach, became victims along with Anytime Fitness Avalon, which had an infected staff member.

The virus infected one or more staff members at different Anytime Fitness gyms in the northern beaches. Picture: Google

Anytime Fitness at Belrose became a virus spot among the northern beaches coronavirus cluster. Picture: Google

The very popular Avalon RSL became a hotspot during the recent COVID outbreak on the northern beaches. Picture: Tim Hunter

Whoever the real couple is, they visited Palm Beach’s female change rooms on the morning of December 13, followed by Coast Palm Beach Cafe and then Avalon Bowlo that evening.

The next day they visited the Sneaky Grind Cafe in Avalon.

By the time NSW Health had released details of the infected couple’s travels, on December 16, the virus had bolted.

The hairdresser, who was known to visit Avalon, was infected but having no idea and with no public warnings, had gone to work like countless others.

Sydney’s northern beaches was only just about to go on high alert.

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Sneaky Grind owner James Sledmere spoke of the effect on the community of the outbreak.

“We’re in quite a bubble so it’s very weird that it has happened here on the northern beaches,” he told The Australian in December.

“We are a small business and this is a small community so it’s really disappointing that we had to close, but hopefully we can get back on our feet soon.”

Meanwhile, a staff member or members had been unknowingly infected before working at Anytime Fitness in Avalon all day between December 8 up until December 17.

COVID-19 would crop up in one or more staff members working at the very popular Avalon Beach RSL Club, on Friday, December 11 and on three subsequent days.

It would jump, one minute’s walk away, to Avalon Bowlo which an infected person visited on three days in December.

The Avalon RSL which is closed after being declared a hotspot. Picture: Tim Hunter

The virus spread to the Avalon Bowlo (above) just one minute walk from the Avalon RSL. Picture: Tim Hunter

Alimentari Cafe in Paddington was infected and four people associated with the location have now been diagnosed. Picture: Google

Around the same time, it was connected to another Anytime Fitness gym, this time at Mona Vale, and Fitness First in the same suburb.

And, so on to Paddington, the hairdresser worked all day at Salon X on December 16-17 and then they or a colleague visited the London Hotel a short walk away on the Thursday evening.

The virus was walked back to Alimentari which in the lead-up to Christmas was busy with customers.

The customers who dined inside would later isolate over Christmas until around New Year’s Day.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her chief health officer Kerry Chant would praise all who made the effort to get themselves tested and isolate.

Four people associated with Alimentari have now been infected, and the cafe has been deep cleaned and will not reopen until January 11.