‘It’s normally a really busy weekend’: A town waits nervously for COVID clearance

In a small flat above his family’s clothing store on Moree’s main shopping strip, Daniel Assef has seen out an unusually dull long weekend.

“It’s normally a really busy weekend for us, because there’s the races at Mallawa,” Mr Assef said.

Four generations of Moree’s Assef family, whose clothing store was visited by a couple who tested positive to COVID-19 last week.Credit: Grace Quast

Instead, Assef’s, a pastel art deco arcade opened by his grandfather in 1940, temporarily closed its doors last week after 10 of its staff were directed to self-isolate by health authorities.

It was one of a number of Moree businesses affected after a Melbourne couple drove up the Newell Highway before testing positive to COVID-19.

NSW recorded no new coronavirus cases on Monday, nearly two weeks after the couple entered the state on Tuesday, June 1, driving north before crossing the border at Goondiwindi on Saturday, June 5, and continuing on to the Sunshine Coast.

Testing has so far not revealed any instance of transmission from the couple to those with whom they came in contact in NSW or Queensland.

Although their stores have been cleaned and are allowed to reopen, affected businesses in Moree said they did not have the staff available to do their usual trade due to the isolation requirements for those working when the couple passed through.

Assef’s will begin trading again on Thursday, when its staff will be released from isolation provided they return negative second tests on Tuesday.

Mr Assef, who said the large store would have to be run by just his mother and two casual employees if it were to reopen before Thursday, has spent his isolation period living by himself above the shop, away from his wife and children.

He was grateful his 91-year-old grandmother Mona, a local bridge champion who moved to Moree from Lebanon in 1950 and has been a fixture at the store for the 71 years since, was not about when the couple visited at 3pm on Thursday, June 3.

“She makes me my lunch every day,” he said.

Cafe Omega and Assef’s on Balo Street, Moree on Monday afternoon.Credit: Grace Quast

Cafe Omega, next door to Assef’s, reopened on Saturday. Owners asked locals to be patient as they were trading short-staffed after two staff were identified as close contacts and directed to isolate after returning negative results.

A few minutes down the road, the Amaroo Tavern reopened on Sunday. However, with many of its staff still in isolation, management said the tavern was not being run at its full capacity.

Gwydir Thermal Pools Motel and Caravan Park, where the couple stayed for two nights, also reopened its doors for the long weekend but with reduced staff as some employees waited for their second tests on Tuesday.

Lara Bryant from North Rocks and Radhiyyah Chand from Liverpool travelled to Moree to assist with the testing effort.Credit: Grace Quast

NSW Health thanked the communities of Coonabarabran, Dubbo, Forbes and Moree for an “excellent response” to calls for COVID-19 testing last week.

From Sunday, June 6, through to Friday, there were 1906 tests recorded at Dubbo (more than five times the number recorded in the previous week), 1337 recorded at Moree (more than 20 times the previous week), 544 at Forbes (more than 10 times the previous week) and 116 at Coonabarabran (a more than fourfold increase).

The ministry administered another record number of COVID-19 vaccines last week, slightly beating its previous week’s total with 85,870 shots delivered.

However, data collected from GPs and Commonwealth respiratory clinics until 11.59pm Saturday showed a slight drop in vaccinations completed at these locations over the week.