Healthcare workers in Sydney’s southwest have potentially been exposed to COVID-19 after a woman was diagnosed with the deadly respiratory virus on Wednesday.
The woman in her 30s was in close contact with staff at Liverpool Hospital prior to her diagnosis.
Contact tracing is now underway. Eight new cases of COVID-19 were identified in New South Wales overnight.
The woman was the only case not from a returned traveller currently undertaking mandatory hotel quarantine.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said ‘further investigations are underway to determine the timing of her infection’.
A Melbourne teenager on holiday with his family in Merimbula, south-east New South Wales has tested positive for coronavirus – as Premier Gladys Berejiklian considers sealing off border towns
The border between Victoria and New South Wales has now closed following three weeks of unacceptably high case numbers in Victoria. Pictured: People from the last flights out of Melbourne
The woman in her 30s was in close contact with staff at Liverpool Hospital (pictured) prior to her diagnosis
Authorities are particularly concerned about whether it’s a historical infection or a more recent one, Ms Chant explained.
Another case which was identified in New South Wales was a 17-year-old from Victoria.
The teenager and his family were holidaying in the coastal town of Merimbula.
They were not from a hotspot in Victoria, and the boy had returned a negative result prior to travelling.
Once the family arrived in New South Wales, they received a call to say the negative result was false and that he did indeed have the virus.
They are all now in isolation, but had visited the Tathra Hotel prior to the diagnosis.
Ms Chant praised the venue for its hygiene practices and said the risk of infection for the other 80 patrons was ‘very low’.
The border between Victoria and New South Wales has now closed following three weeks of unacceptably high case numbers in Victoria.
Residents living in towns near the Victorian border have been warned not to travel to other parts of the state, with the premier flagging further action may be needed to isolate those communities.
The whole of Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire north of the city will be placed back into lock down for six weeks from 11.59pm on Wednesday after Victoria recorded 191 new cases of coronavirus – its worst figure yet. Pictured: A map showing the suburbs in lockdown
The border between Victoria and New South Wales has now closed following three weeks of unacceptably high case numbers in Victoria. Pictured: People from the last flights out of Melbourne
: Medical professionals conduct a nasal swab test at the COVID-19 Bondi Beach drive-through testing center on July 07
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday said more than 60,000 exemption permits were issued overnight for people living in border communities, allowing them to cross the border.
But the premier warned the widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in Victoria is a huge risk for NSW and urged residents in Albury and other border towns not to travel to other parts of the state.
‘The probability of contagion in NSW given what’s happened in Victoria is extremely high,’ she told reporters in Sydney.
‘The probability that we need to be tougher on broader restrictions is extremely high.
‘The government is considering what further action we take to make sure the bubble of these border communities is maintained.’
Ms Berejiklian also flagged some COVID-19 health orders relating to gatherings will be tweaked in the coming days, but that it would be ‘nothing major’.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said ‘further investigations are underway to determine the timing of her infection’
Another case which was identified in New South Wales was a 17-year-old from Victoria. The teenager and his family were holidaying in the coastal town of Merimbula. They are all now in isolation, but had visited the Tathra Hotel (pictured) prior to the diagnosis
The premier ‘absolutely’ called on NSW residents still in Victoria to come home immediately or they could be forced to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense.
Such hotels cost about $2,500 in the Northern Territory when they were required for interstate arrivals before the conditions were relaxed late last month. NSW residents returning home right need only to self-isolate.
‘I have no tolerance for people who are continuing their lives as normal,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘There is no excuse for people wanting to hang around because they want a few extra days [in Victoria] because they feel like it.’
Ms Berejiklian urged anyone on the NSW-Victoria border to get tested if they had even the mildest symptoms, along with those in tourist areas like Ballina and Byron Bay.
‘Sometimes infection can bubble under the surface for a month,’ she said.
NSW residents were also instructed not to go anywhere near the Victorian border and not enter communities like Albury, as they are being treated as a ‘second border’.