The spread of the Delta Covid variant in Sydney schools has sparked fears the highly contagious strain is more transmissible among children than previous variants.
Monday’s confirmed cases included two South Coogee Public School students. Four students at the school in the city’s east have now tested positive.
Staff and more than 1,300 students at Rose Bay Secondary College have meanwhile been sent into self-isolation after a student contracted Covid-19.
Medical Journal of Australia editor Professor Nick Talley said evidence about the spread of the new variant globally indicated it may be more infectious among children than the original strain of the virus.
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Fears are growing the highly contagious Delta Covid-19 strain is more transmissible among children than previous variants. Pictured is a parent collecting children at St Charles Primary School at Waverley in Sydney’s east last Tuesday
‘We thought schools were not at as big a risk with the original virus – although there is a risk,’ the epidemiologist told 2GB.
‘But with Delta it may be a different situation.’
He pointed to recent studies in the UK which showed how the virus strain was spreading more rapidly through children than its predecessors.
‘In the UK there’s no doubt young children are being affected by the virus,’ Professor Talley said.
‘The only piece of good news is the rates of hospitalisations in the UK – in children with Covid – have not actually risen.
‘So while children may get the virus and may actually get sick, the risk of them going to hospital might not be as we feared.’
Analysis from Public Health England found the Delta variant had a 60 per cent higher risk of household transmission than the Alpha virus – also known as the UK strain.
Australia’s Chief Nursing Officer Alison McMillan on Monday said the Delta strain is 60 per cent more infectious than Alpha.
Staff and more than 1,300 students at Rose Bay Secondary College in Sydney’s east (pictured) have been sent into self-isolation after a student contracted Covid-19
The spread of the virus in eastern Sydney schools comes as the number of sites exposed to the virus across the city swelled to more than 300.
A JB Hi-Fi, a popular chicken shop and 16 new public transport routes were the latest additions to Sydney’s coronavirus exposure list overnight.
Karl’s Charcoal Chicken in Marrickville has been listed as a high-risk site, while a number of train lines between Town Hall and the city’s south were added as casual contacts.
Pictured: Avalon Beach in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. An epidemiologist pointed to recent studies in the UK which showed how the virus strain was spreading more rapidly through children than its predecessors
Monday’s confirmed cases included two South Coogee Public School (pictured) students. Four students at the school in the city’s east have now tested positive
Anyone who visited Karl’s at G013/20 Smidmore Street on Wednesday 23 June between 12.10pm and 12.30pm must immediately be tested and self-isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi in the Bondi Junction Westfield were also added to the exposure list, with their contact coming on Friday June 25, the lead-up to the areas lockdown.
In Sydney’s inner-west, the exposed venues include the Westpac bank in Marrickville between 2.30pm to 4pm on June 21, 22, and 23, and the Alexandria Shell Coles Express on June 26, from 10am to 10.15am.
The Westpac branch in Marrickville (pictured) has been added to the list, with anyone who visited on June 21, 22, and 23, between 2.30pm to 4pm, considered a casual contact
The alert also applies to those who visited two eastern suburbs shops inside Maroubra’s Pacific Square Shopping Centre – Royale Poultry and Baker’s Delight – on June 23, between 3.30pm to 3.40pm.
The times of concern for a previously listed venue, the Black and Gold Espresso in Roseberry, have also been extended after contact tracers reviewed information.
Anyone who attended the cafe on Friday 25 June between 10.30am to 11.30am is now considered a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
Those who visited First Choice Liquor in Maroubra are advised to monitor for symptoms, get tested if they develop, and isolate until receiving a negative result.
An alert has also been issued for Royale Poultry and Baker’s Delight, in Maroubra’s Pacific Square Shopping Centre (pictured), for those who visited the businesses on June 23, between 3.30pm to 3.40pm
The Harvey Norman and JB Hi-Fi stores inside Bondi Junction Westfield (pictured) were also added as exposure sites on Monday
Earlier on Monday, seven new venues were added to the list, including a Domino’s Pizza store, a popular pub and another coffee shop.
The state’s health department also flagged a petrol station, a Woolworths, a Bunnings hardware store and a Coles Express.
The venues are spread throughout Sydney from the outer western suburbs to the Inner West and the Covid-ravaged east.
NSW recorded 18 new locally-acquired infections on Monday, bringing the spiralling Bondi cluster to 130 cases on the second day Greater Sydney’s two-week lockdown.