Tracers struggle to get ahead of NSW Covid-19 outbreak

Health authorities fear the Greater Sydney lockdown may have to be extended as case numbers spiked on Friday with 31 new cases recorded in NSW.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian in Sydney on Friday. Picture: Joel Carrett

Health authorities fear the Greater Sydney lockdown may have to be extended as case numbers spiked on Friday with 31 new cases recorded in NSW, amid concerns contact tracers are only now identifying hotspots that pre-date the lockdown a week ago.

Elsewhere, Queensland’s lockdown was partially lifted after three local cases were detected on Friday, with hard lockdowns extended for 24 hours in Brisbane and Moreton, but lockdowns ended in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

With at least 13 of the new cases in NSW not in isolation while infectious, Sydneysiders have been told to brace for higher case numbers in the coming days due to the “lag time” until cases are detected.

The new cases – the highest number since the lockdown began – bring the total in the state’s outbreak to 226. Premier Gladys Berejiklian expressed cautious optimism that while there was likely to be an increase over the next few days, “hopefully early next week we should see the impact of the lockdown really turning and having a positive impact”.

“I am relieved, I have to say, that the case numbers were not as bad as what they could have been.”

But with the lockdown due to end on July 9, Ms Berejiklian expressed serious concern about the number of infectious cases that had not been in isolation.

“I do want to stress that what we look at is how many cases we had that were not in isolation ­either completely or partially, and I do think last night’s figure of 13 is concerning,” she said.

“The next few days are critical, and come early next week you would want to see the tide turned in terms of the number of people with the virus who are in isolation as opposed to those who have been active in the community.”

Contact tracers are still playing catch-up, with some exposure sites visited by infectious people more than a week ago only identified as hotspots in the past two days, including areas in western and south western suburbs such as Bankstown, Earlwood and Bossley Park.

Deakin University epidemiology chair Catherine Bennett said the time-frames showed that “getting people into quarantine or isolation isn’t ahead of the virus yet. It’s disappointing – you kind of hope that a week in, there’s a pattern where you’ve got it contained,” she added.

Officials are also concerned about the number of retail settings where transmission has occurred, including a growing hotspot linked to a Coles store in Bondi Junction in the city’s east and another hotspot at fashion outlet H&M in the city.

NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said: “The message is, please don’t go out and about shopping in retail, in any setting, if you have got symptoms.”

But as shoppers continued to flock to fashion and electronics stores on Friday, epidemiologists urged the government to restrict shopping to essential services.

Burnet Institute epidemiologist Mike Toole said he was puzzled why many retail stores in Sydney were still open.

“In Victoria when there’s a lockdown, everything closes except food stores and pharmacies,” he said. “Add that to the fact there’s no limit on how far you can travel within Sydney and there’s a big gap in restrictions, because you could be in Double Bay and drive to Parramatta to your favourite pet store or clothes shop and be carrying the virus all over the city.”

Professor Bennett also urged a crackdown on non-essential shopping. “The government is controlling movement by telling people not to go out, rather than telling businesses to close down. But really, it’s time. If you’re going to do this, do it properly.

“There’s a big difference between (going to) a grocery store and an outlet selling fishing equipment,” Professor Bennett said.