NSW records 97 new COVID-19 cases with 29 infectious in community

By Mary WardUpdated July 16, 2021 â€" 11.16amfirst published at 11.03am

NSW reported 97 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, 29 of which were in the community for their entire infectious period.

Of the 97 locally acquired cases, 63 are linked to a known case or cluster â€" 49 are household contacts and 14 are close contacts â€" and the source of infection for 34 cases remains under investigation.

Forty-six cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and 17 cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period. The isolation status of five cases remains under investigation.

“That number of people being infectious in the community keeps going up,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Friday. “We really want to stress to everybody: please stay at home, follow the orders.”

The new infections bring the total number of cases recorded in the state since June 16 to more than 1000. Sixty-seven of the new cases were in South Western Sydney Local Health District.

“While we know south-western Sydney has the bulk of the cases, it is really important for all of us, no matter where you live, no matter your circumstances, to stay at home because we know how easily the virus spreads and we know how easily other communities can get the virus,” the Premier said.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday.Credit:James Brickwood

There are currently 75 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 18 people in intensive care, five of whom require ventilation. There were 77,587 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 58,299.

Number of cases in the community ‘incredibly concerning’

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant described the continuing number of cases being recorded who had been infectious in the community as “incredibly concerning”.

“The fact 29 cases were infectious for two or more days in the community is incredibly concerning,” Dr Chant said.

“I can’t stress to the community my absolute concern that we need to work harder at reducing mobility and reduce our interactions with others if we will bring the situation under control.”

Areas currently of concern for health authorities are located in a number of parts of Sydney.

Dr Chant said she wanted to see increased testing in the Bayside, Campbelltown, Camden, Lakemba, Fairfield, Liverpool, Cumberland, Mt Druitt, Rooty Hill, Sutherland Shire, and Georges River areas.

Vast majority of NSW ICU cases unvaccinated

Dr Chant said just one of the state’s ICU cases had been vaccinated: a person who had received only one dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Eleven of the cases in ICU are under the age of 55, including one person in their 20s and one in their 30s.

Dr Chant urged people to get a COVID-19 test as soon as they experienced symptoms.

“This virus spreads so quickly â€" by the time you get tested, if you are leaving it for two days or three days into the symptom onset, you’ve already impacted those most near and dear to you,” she said.

Meanwhile, the list of locations and transport routes potentially exposed to the virus grew to more than 400 on Friday.

Victoria reported six new cases on Friday, as the number of infections associated with two removalists from NSW and a Melbourne family who returned from Sydney earlier this month continued to grow.

The state entered a five-day lockdown at midnight in response to the infections. Exposure sites identified in Melbourne have included the Wallabies game against France at AAMI Park and the Carlton-Geelong game at the MCG last weekend.

Queensland recorded one new locally acquired case on Friday â€" the mother of a 12-year-old boy who tested positive yesterday. The sunshine state has now shut its border with Victoria.

More than 20 new exposure sites were announced by NSW Health on Thursday night, including Alpha Medical Centre in Seven Hills on Monday, July 12 between 2.15pm and 4.30pm, Tuesday, July 13 between 8am and 5pm and Wednesday, July 14 between 8am and 5pm and Penna’s Green Valley Pharmacy in Green Valley on Saturday, July 10 between 1.05pm and 1.15pm and again on Sunday, July 11 between 3.15pm and 3.25pm.

The frontline of Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak has widened from family homes to workplaces across the city, with cases emerging at the WestConnex Rozelle interchange site, hospitals and a Rooty Hill aged care facility.

About 200 cleaners are refusing to enter the COVID unit at Sydney’s Westmead hospital amid the city’s growing outbreak, saying they are being denied requests for hairnets, shoe coverings, mask fit testing and on-site showers after their shift.

A fully vaccinated nurse working at the hospital’s COVID-19 ward recently tested positive. A case in a healthcare worker who had recently worked at Liverpool and Campbelltown hospitals was also confirmed on Thursday.

Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes told 2GB this morning the cleaners were a complementary workforce in the healthcare setting and “just as important as any other clinician” but are being treated as “second class citizens”.

Mary Ward is a health reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.

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