Fears of a Sydney hotel quarantine outbreak as a traveller is infected with the exact same Covid strain as a couple in a nearby room
- A traveller in hotel quarantine has been infected with Alpha strain of Covid-19
- Strain at a hotel in Sydney’s CBD is identical to another couple staying at venue
Fears are rising of a potential Sydney hotel quarantine outbreak after a traveller was infected with the identical Covid strain to a couple based in an adjacent room.
NSW Health is frantically investigating the development, with the viral sequence of all three cases confirmed as the same.
It remains unknown how the transmission occurred on the fourth floor of the Radisson Blu quarantine hotel in the CBD.
Genomic sequencing has revealed all three cases have identical viral sequences of the Alpha strain.
The media release (pictured) from NSW Health confirming the three positive cases
All three positive Covid cases are in hotel quarantine at Radisson Blu (pictured) in Sydney’s CBD
In a statement on Tuesday night, NSW Health confirmed the three positive cases in hotel quarantine (pictured healthcare workers transport a person into a patient transport vehicle)
The couple, who were asymptomatic, returned a positive Covid reading following a test on June 3.
The other returned traveller from Doha returned a negative day two test on June 3, before developing symptoms and testing positive two days later on June 5, according to 7News.com.au.
In a statement on Tuesday night, NSW Health confirmed the three positive cases.
‘Early possibilities as to where transmission may have occurred from the couple to the secondary case include on the flight, on transport from the airport to the hotel, in the lobby of the hotel, or while in quarantine,’ the statement read.
‘Currently, there is no evidence of further transmission.’
All three positive cases arrived into Sydney on the same flight from Doha in Qatar on June 1.
The trio were quickly transferred to the Special Health Accommodation following confirmation of their positive test results.
As a precautionary measure, all returned travellers who stayed on the fourth floor between June 1 and 5 will be contacted by NSW Health.
They must also get tested and self-isolate before receiving further advice.
Additionally, staff who worked on the fourth floor of the Radisson Blu hotel between June 1 and June 5 have also been asked to get tested and isolate.