Coronavirus: NSW private school cluster grows amid biggest spike in daily cases

NSW recorded it’s biggest jump in COVID-19 infections since the first wave of the pandemic, as cases linked with a private school increase.

Tangara School for Girls in Sydney’s Cherrybrook. Picture: Richard Dobson

NSW has recorded its highest daily number of COVID-19 cases since the first wave of the pandemic as an outbreak at a private girls school in Sydney north-west grows rapidly.

Tangara School for Girls postponed Year 12 HSC trial exams to late August in a bid to stop the spread of coronavirus, after eight new infections were reported in connection with the school on Tuesday.

A case was also recorded at the weekend at St Agatha’s Catholic Church, which has a close relationship with Tangara School for Girls.

In the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, NSW recorded 22 new cases of COVID-19, including 16 locally acquired infections linked to known cases.

The latest cases at the Tan­gara school involved five students, a staff member and two social contacts of confirmed cases.

The first infection linked with the school was reported on Saturday, after a student tested positive to the virus. The total number linked with the outbreak jumped to 17 on Tuesday, after growing to three cases on Sunday and nine on Monday.

Twelve students and one staff member have tested positive. Four close contacts of confirmed cases have been infected.

The source of the outbreak is still unclear, but the school on Tuesday dismissed rumours it started at a retreat. “Tangara School for Girls has not had any camps or external activities for its students since March 2020, when COVID-19 restrictions for schools came into place,” a spokesman said in a statement.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she expected the cluster at Tangara in Cherrybrook to grow. She also slammed extra-curricular activities as “not acceptable”, saying they could lead to a surge in numbers.

Australian National University infectious diseases expert Sanjaya Senanayake said older school children may be more susceptible to catching and transmitting the virus: “What we do know is that overall, children are less likely to get and transmit the virus but there are studies, one from an outbreak in northern France and some data from South Korea, that suggest older kids are more likely to get it.”