Balmain bug sparks coronavirus testing splurge

Residents of Sydney’s densely populated suburb of Balmain rushed to be tested for COVID-19 on Friday amid fears of an outbreak.

Medical workers test residents for the coronavirus in Balmain in Sydney’s inner west on Friday. Picture: Nikki Short

Residents of Sydney’s densely populated suburb of Balmain rushed to be tested for COVID-19 on Friday amid fears of an outbreak caused by an infected man arriving from Melbourne.

Long queues formed outside testing facilities in the inner west suburbs of Balmain and Rozelle in response to a call from health officials that residents should be vigilant of any flu-like symptoms.

Friday also marked an escalation in the policing and screening of incoming arrivals into NSW from Victoria, particularly among travellers hailing from postcodes identified as COVID-19 hotspots.

Screening increased across the state’s airports and train stations, and NSW police officers were ­ordered to monitor vehicles with Victorian number plates.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he had spoken to his Victorian counterpart about introducing screening measures on the Victorian side of the border to prevent travellers from hotspots ­attempting to cross into NSW.

He made the request after ­officials in Sydney identified a man, aged in his late 50s, who had travelled on an XPT train from Melbourne to Sydney’s Central Station. A health official queried the postcode on the man’s licence, but the man responded that he no longer lived in the area. He then clarified his version of events by saying he had recently visited the area to attend a storage facility.

“Nobody should be coming to NSW with identification showing you’ve come from that area,” Mr Hazzard said. “We shouldn’t have NSW citizens put in that situation, and we shouldn’t have our health staff having to dig into where you have come from.”

Fines of up to $11,000 or six months in prison have been ­mooted for anyone crossing the border into NSW from a virus hotspot. Mr Hazzard said he had asked for the Victorian man to be assessed for such a fine.

“Let this be a message for ­Victorians from a hotspot: do not come to NSW unless you have a very good reason or have an exemption to come here, particularly for a medical reason, or something else extraordinary,” Mr Hazzard said.

NSW health officials are on alert for any sign of community transmission since it emerged that a Victorian man who had tested positive for the virus had worked two shifts at a Woolworths store on Darling Street, Balmain, on June 27 and 28.

The store was closed and subjected to a deep clean.