Joh Bailey’s warns a thousand customers exposed to coronavirus by infected hairdresser

Famed Sydney salon boss Joh Bailey warns more than 1,000 customers and staff at his flagship outlet in Double Bay have been exposed to coronavirus by an infected hairdresser.

The hairdresser, who lives in western Sydney, worked three consecutive nine-hour shifts at the salon from Thursday June 17 to Saturday June 19.

Mr Bailey told Daily Mail Australia the ramifications of one staff member testing positive to Covid 19 was ‘unbelievable’.

‘We have over 1,000 customers and staff this has affected… who have to isolate,’ he said.

The infected hairdresser is one of two super-spreader events in Sydney sending thousands of residents into isolation after being exposed to the highly-infectious Delta variant.

Famed Sydney salon boss Joh Bailey warns more than 1,000 customers and staff at his flagship outlet in Double Bay have been exposed to coronavirus by an infected hairdresser

The hairdresser, who lives in western Sydney, worked three consecutive nine-hour shifts at the salon from Thursday June 17 to Saturday June 19

The hairdresser, who lives in western Sydney, worked three consecutive nine-hour shifts at the salon from Thursday June 17 to Saturday June 19 

It is one of two super-spreader events in Sydney that could bring the Harbour City to its knees with thousands of residents and workers isolating after being exposed to the highly-infectious Delta variant

It is one of two super-spreader events in Sydney that could bring the Harbour City to its knees with thousands of residents and workers isolating after being exposed to the highly-infectious Delta variant

The other event was a dinner on Monday night at Christo’s Pizzeria in the city’s trendy inner-eastern suburb of Paddington where NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall was infected by another customer, and then attended a National Party Budget dinner on Tuesday night in Parliament House. 

As Joh Bailey’s salon underwent a deep clean on Thursday – which he described as scenes resembling the Met Gala – Mr Bailey said the focus was on staff and customer health.

‘We are allowed to re-open, of course, but because all or most of our staff have to isolate – that’s the problem we have right now.’

Mr Bailey is one of Australia’s most sought-after hairdressers who has been at the top of his game for three decades and has a client list that reads like a who’s-who of TV stars, socialites, politicians, business elite.

NSW Health officials contacted the salon on Wednesday morning to alert it to the positive case, and management closed the doors immediately.

The hairdresser, who commuted from the city’s west for work each morning, has since infected three customers – with hundreds of others in isolation with fears it could lead to a massive outbreak.

‘We wish to express our deepest gratitude to NSW Health for their incredible efficiency and support during the ongoing Covid-19 NSW outbreak,’ Mr Bailey wrote on Instagram.

As the salon underwent a deep clean on Thursday – which he described as scenes resembling the Met Gala – Mr Bailey said the focus was on staff and customer health

As the salon underwent a deep clean on Thursday – which he described as scenes resembling the Met Gala – Mr Bailey said the focus was on staff and customer health

Cleaners prepare their equipment before entering the salon, which will be closed until further notice

Cleaners prepare their equipment before entering the salon, which will be closed until further notice

Australian hairdressing icon Joh Bailey said the scene at his flagship salon in Double Bay was like something out of the Met Gala as officials scrambled to conduct a deep clean

Australian hairdressing icon Joh Bailey said the scene at his flagship salon in Double Bay was like something out of the Met Gala as officials scrambled to conduct a deep clean

‘In light of this, our Double Bay salon will be temporarily closed for deep cleaning and we will advise our re-opening date in due course.

‘An enormous thank you to our valued clients and community who have reached out with messages and support of kindness.

‘It is appreciated so much and we in turn wish everyone to remain safe, healthy and supported during this challenging global pandemic.’

The Double Bay salon has about 10 hairdressers working at any given time, plus beauticians and support staff.  

Mr Marshall and three fellow Nationals were in attendance at the Paddington pizzeria from 5.55pm to 8.30pm on Monday, the evening before the state’s budget announcement.

Mr Marshall is believed to have contracted the virus from a diner, before he was in attendance at the state parliament building on Macquarie Street the next day.

His fellow Nationals MPs Trevor Khan, Steph Cooke and Ben Franklin are also in isolation. 

Mr Marshall then attended the post-budget Nationals party dinner, which was attended by a variety of senior officials including the NSW Premier, who confirmed she tested negative on Thursday.   

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has also tested negative to the virus.

Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce was absent from the beginning of question time on Thursday afternoon after it was believed he was a close contact of Mr Marshall’s.

Mr Joyce returned to parliament later Thursday and confirmed after meeting with health officials he was not a close contact and was able to return to work. 

Many attendees at the dinner on Monday June 21 were present in state parliament on Tuesday June 22. 

MPs who were at Parliament House on Tuesday or Wednesday have been told by the NSW Department of Parliamentary Services to self-isolate until told otherwise. 

Parliament House on Macquarie Street in Sydney's CBD has been listed as a high-exposure site after NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall tested positive

Parliament House on Macquarie Street in Sydney’s CBD has been listed as a high-exposure site after NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall tested positive

Mr Marshall is believed to have contracted the virus from a diner, before he was in attendance at the state parliament building on Macquarie Street the next day

Mr Marshall is believed to have contracted the virus from a diner, before he was in attendance at the state parliament building on Macquarie Street the next day

A Nationals dinner at Christo's Pizzeria in Paddington is believed to be the catalyst for the superspreader event, with four MPs and their staff all attending the pre-budget event

A Nationals dinner at Christo’s Pizzeria in Paddington is believed to be the catalyst for the superspreader event, with four MPs and their staff all attending the pre-budget event

The Joh Bailey took to Instagram on Thursday afternoon confirming the salon would be shutting down temporarily due to contact from a coronavirus-positive patron

The Joh Bailey took to Instagram on Thursday afternoon confirming the salon would be shutting down temporarily due to contact from a coronavirus-positive patron 

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured on Wednesday) has so far managed to fend off a lockdown, instead bringing in restrictions including limited visitors to the home and mandatory masks – even in offices

Ms Berejiklian warned Sydney was going through the ‘scariest period’ of the pandemic yet, but refused to impose a city-wide lockdown as she confirmed 11 new local cases of Covid-19 overnight. 

The 11 additional cases includes six recorded overnight since 8pm and five unreported infections from Wednesday’s figures.

All but one of the new infections, the hairdresser at Joh Bailey’s salon, are linked to a previous case.

There are now 36 cases linked to the Bondi cluster, which prompted the NSW premier to impose widespread restrictions to slow the spread  of the virus.

The positive community cases came from 48,402 tests, up from the 44,640 carried out the day before.

NSW Health said 11 of the 30 people who went to a ‘super-spreader’ birthday party in West Hoxton in Sydney’s west had now returned positive Covid-19 results.

Health workers have been photographed in attendance at parliament on Thursday afternoon as they undergo a deep clean of the facilities after a positive case attended the building

Health workers have been photographed in attendance at parliament on Thursday afternoon as they undergo a deep clean of the facilities after a positive case attended the building

Barnaby Joyce sought medical advice before Question Time and returned to the chamber soon after the beginning of the session

Barnaby Joyce sought medical advice before Question Time and returned to the chamber soon after the beginning of the session

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard (pictured) and four other MPs are forced into isolation after being close contacts of Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall, who has tested positive to Covid-19

Pictured: Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and four other MPs are in isolation after being close contacts of Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall, who has tested positive to the Delta variant

Ms Berejiklian said she was comfortable the restrictions announced on Wednesday were sufficient to contain the outbreak.

‘This is perhaps the scariest period that New South Wales is going through, and [NSW Chief Health Officer] Dr Chant and I have an equal view of that,’ she said.

‘It is a very contagious variant but at the same time we are comfortable that the settings we have in place are appropriate.’

Fears were earlier mounting that millions of Sydneysiders may soon be confined to their homes as the virus spreads across the city, but this did not come to pass.

Victorian contact tracers are also scrambling to stop the virus spreading again after a man in his 60s tested positive to Covid-19 in Melbourne after visiting his daughter in Sydney over the weekend. 

Canberra is also bracing for further cases with politicians having re-entered the capital. 

Covid cases are on the rise in Sydney (pictured, a couple in mandatory masks in Manly)

Covid cases are on the rise in Sydney (pictured, a couple in mandatory masks in Manly)

New South Wales has recorded 11 new local cases of Covid-19 overnight. Commuters pictured wearing face masks on a train platform at Central Station on Wednesday

New South Wales has recorded 11 new local cases of Covid-19 overnight. Commuters pictured wearing face masks on a train platform at Central Station on Wednesday

Light rail cleaners are seen wiping down a tram in the Sydney CBD on Thursday. Fears are growing the virus may be spreading through multiple 'super-spreader' events after 11 cases were linked to a birthday party attended by 30 people in West Hoxton in Sydney's west

Light rail cleaners are seen wiping down a tram in the Sydney CBD on Thursday. Fears are growing the virus may be spreading through multiple ‘super-spreader’ events after 11 cases were linked to a birthday party attended by 30 people in West Hoxton in Sydney’s west

NEW COVID-19 RULES FOR GREATER SYDNEY 

From 4pm Wednesday for one week: 

Visitors to households will be limited to five guests – including children;

Masks will be compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces, and at organised outdoor events;

Drinking while standing at indoor venues will not be allowed;

Singing by audiences at indoor shows or by congregants at indoor places of worship will not be allowed;

Dancing will not be allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs however, dancing is allowed at weddings for the bridal party only (no more than 20 people);

Dance and gym classes limited to 20 per class (masks must be worn);

The one person per four square metre rule will be re-introduced for all indoor and outdoor settings, including weddings and funerals;

Outdoor seated events will be limited to 50 per cent seated capacity;

Previous public transport capacity limits, represented by green dots, will be reintroduced

Those who live and work in seven hotspot suburbs will not be allowed to leave metropolitan Sydney unless they have an essential reason

Those who live and work in seven hotspot suburbs will not be allowed to leave metropolitan Sydney unless they have an essential reason

THE THREE FACTORS THAT COULD SEND SYDNEY INTO LOCKDOWN 

The city’s vaccination levels

How fast the Delta variant is spreading 

How active the cases were in the community while they were infectious 

Source: UNSW epidemiologist Dr Abrar Chughtai

Lockdown-happy premiers in other states including Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland have already slammed their borders shut, disrupting school holiday plans for thousands.

On Thursday, Queensland recorded three new local cases after an infected woman in her 30s visited the Portuguese Family Centre restaurant in Ellen Grove in Brisbane’s south-west.   

Ms Berejiklian, who has always strived to take a measured approach to outbreaks, has so far stood firm by refusing to lock down Sydney, instead bringing in a number of restrictions including limits of five visitors to a household and mandatory masks. 

The Delta variant is so contagious that two people in Bondi this week caught Covid by momentarily brushing past each other.   

Prime Minister Scott Morrison praised the NSW’s premier’s approach.

‘She hasn’t gone to lock down Australia’s biggest city,’ he said.

‘But has taken the positive decision to keep Sydney and NSW open for its residents and to continue to rely on what is Australia’s best contact tracing system.’

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