Coles and Sydney gym are added to list of coronavirus hotspots visited by infected security guard

A Coles supermarket and Sydney gym have been added to the list of coronavirus hotspots after they were visited by an infected hotel quarantine security guard.

NSW Health announced on Monday afternoon anyone who visited the Coles at Hurstville station, in Sydney’s south, between 7:30am and 7:40am on Saturday, March 13 should monitor for symptoms. 

If symptoms appear, a Covid test must be undertaken immediately and an isolation period is required until a negative result is received.

The same alert applies to anyone who attended the Hurstville Aquatic Leisure Centre in the stadium and gymnasium area on King Georges Road between 4:15pm and 5:30pm on Wednesday, March 10. 

NSW Health have also revised details for an alert previously issued for the Coles Hurstville station.

The exposure time for Wednesday, March 10 has now been listed as 9:15pm to 9:46pm. 

The latest health alert comes as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warns there will be more positive Covid-19 cases after a hotel worker tested positive for the highly contagious UK strain. 

The 47-year-old hotel quarantine security guard who works at the Sofitel Wentworth and the Mantra Hotel at Haymarket returned a positive test late on Saturday night, ending the state’s 55 day streak.

His four family members have since tested negative and 130 close contacts were asked to self-isolate after working an overnight shift with the man at the Mantra Hotel on Friday.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned there will be more positive Covid-19 cases after a hotel worker tested positive for the highly transmissible UK strain

The man worked at the Mantra Hotel at Haymarket and the Sofitel Wentworth (pictured) housing returned international travellers on March 11 and 12 while infectious

Ms Berejiklian said on Monday it was likely more cases would recorded as the man visited numerous locations.

‘Pleasingly to date there is no evidence of widespread transmission, but of course we know how dangerous the various strains of the virus can be so NSW Health is doing everything they can to make sure we stay on top of it,’ she said. 

The man, who had already received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on March 2 worked while infectious at the Mantra from 7pm on Friday night to 7am on Saturday.

During his shift, the man visited the Dae Jang Kum Korean restaurant in Haymarket, between 12.15am and 12.20am, before going to the nearby 7-Eleven in Capitol Square, on George Street, from 12.20am to 12.25am. 

He also caught a train from Hurstville to the city arriving at 6.30pm on March 12 and from the city to Hurstville leaving at 7am the next morning.

People who were at these locations are urged to monitor for symptoms and come forward for testing even with the mildest of symptoms. 

‘While the source of the new case’s infection is still under investigation, genomic sequencing results received last night show a match to the viral strain of a Covid-positive returned traveller who was in the Softitel Wentworth quarantine hotel while infectious,’ a NSW Health alert read.

‘The genome sequencing results indicate the strain found in the hotel quarantine guest and security guard is the more transmissible B1.1.7 variant of the virus (also known as the UK variant).’ 

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said it remains unclear how the man contracted the disease despite adhering to all safety protocols.  

‘Investigations have confirmed this gentleman did work a shift on the same floor, floor 11, in the Sofitel when the international returned traveller was infectious; genomic sequencing indicates they are a match,’ she said.

‘(But) we did review the CCTV footage and can I just say this gentleman was exemplary in his adherence to the procedures for mask wearing and other protections and precautions. 

‘So we haven’t been able to find an exact source or explanation for how this person became infected.’