NSW records no new local coronavirus cases

A Sydney restaurant has joined a long list of COVID exposure sites – and NSW Health criticised the eatery for a ‘concerning’ reason.

A Sydney restaurant has been criticised by the health department for not enforcing QR code check-ins after the eatery ended up on a list of feared coronavirus exposure sites.

The rebuke from NSW Health came as the state recorded no new coronavirus cases on day three of an ongoing outbreak.

However, there are still fears community members could be infected with COVID-19 without knowing it after an eastern suburbs couple tested positive on Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

After the couple’s diagnosis, NSW Health compiled a long list of places where officials fear COVID-19 could have spread.

Haymarket restaurant XOPP was added to the list on Thursday night.

NSW Health wrote in a coronavirus update on Friday that QR code check-ins at the restaurant were “very low”.

XOPP has been criticised by the health department for not enforcing QR code check-ins after the eatery ended up on a list of feared coronavirus exposure sites. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

“NSW Health is concerned that compliance with QR code check-ins at XOPP restaurant was very low and urges anyone who dined or worked there on Wednesday, 28 April from 1.30pm to 2.30pm to get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive a negative result,” the department wrote.

The XOPP restaurant was highlighted in the NSW Health update as forming part of an investigation into how the eastern suburbs couple was infected.

A department spokesman said officials were keen for people who visited the eatery at the time specified to come forward and get tested immediately and self-isolate until receiving a negative result.

But he stressed there would be no negative consequences for anyone who missed checking in.

The man who first tested positive to COVID-19 this week has no links to overseas travel, border work or health work, and health officials are stumped as to how he became infected.

While a genome analysis has indicated the virus he was infected with originally came from a returned traveller from the US, it’s unclear how the spread actually occurred.

Officials have warned there appears to be a “missing link”, meaning one or more people might be in the community and COVID-19 positive without being aware of it.

“It’s a mystery at the moment,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Channel 7’s Sunrise program earlier on Friday.

“We don't know who it is. It could be more than one person, it could be a worker that has passed it onto someone else who has passed it onto someone else.”

Anyone who visited the following venues at the specified times are considered close contacts and should get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of result:

COLLAROY: Alfresco Emporium, 1021 Pittwater Rd, Tuesday May 4; 1.00pm to 1.30pm

MOORE PARK: The Stadium Club in the Entertainment Quarter, 122 Lang Road, Monday May 3; 11.30am to 12:30pm

PADDINGTON: Barbetta at 1 Elizabeth Street in Paddington between 1.30pm and 2.30pm April 30.

ROSE BAY: The Royal Sydney Golf Club on Kent Road, Monday May 3; 5.30pm to 9.00pm

RUSHCUTTERS BAY: Figo restaurant; 3/56-60A Bayswater Road; Friday April 30; 8.45-11pm

SYDNEY: HineSight Optometrist at the Sofitel Sydney Wentworth between noon and 1pm on April 30.

MASCOT: BP Mascot; 1077 Botany Road; Saturday May 1; 4.30-5pm

For some venues that were previously listed, the window of concern has expanded, including the entries for Joe’s Barbecues & Heating and Tucker Barbecues, where the alert now applies from 1.30pm to 2.30pm on May 1.

The alert for District Brasserie was also extended, until 12pm on April 30.

Other venues of concern include:

SYDNEY: District Brasserie at 2 Chifley Square between 11am and 12pm on April 30.

SILVERWATER: Joe’s Barbecues & Heating; 142 Silverwater Road; Saturday May 1; 1.30-2.30pm

SILVERWATER: Tucker Barbeques; 138 Silverwater Road; Saturday May 1; 1-1.45pm

BONDI JUNCTION: The Meat Store; 262 Oxford Street; Sunday May 2; 3-4pm

BONDI BEACH: Bondi Trattoria, 34 Campbell Parade, Thursday April 29, 12.45pm - 1.30pm

SYDNEY: Fratelli Fresh, Westfield Sydney, F5 Pitt Street, Tuesday April 27: 1:15pm – 2:15pm

There were five new cases of coronavirus in hotel quarantine in the latest 24-hour reporting period.