What a COVID-induced panic looks like: Hundreds of locals head to a drive-through testing centre in Sydney's inner west after Woolworths worker tests positive
- Balmain Woolworths worker, in Sydney's inner west, tested positive to COVID-19
- The man worked two shifts at the store on June 27 and 28 while infectious
- Local residents are advised to be on high alert and to get tested if they feel ill
- Hundreds of locals went to the COVID-19 drive-through clinic in nearby Rozelle
Hundreds of Sydney residents have flocked to a COVID-19 drive-through testing centre after a local Woolworths worker tested positive for coronavirus.
Balmain, in the city's inner west, is on high alert after the supermarket employee worked two shifts at the grocery store on June 27 and 28 while infectious.
Residents who feel unwell have been advised to go for a COVID-19 swab, with hundreds attending the drive-through clinic in neighbouring Rozelle on Friday.
Dozens of cars were forced to loop around the block amid the heightened demand for testing.
Pictured: Cars line up at the COVID-19 drive-through clinic in Rozelle, Sydney's inner west
Cars were forced to wait around the block for their coronavirus swab in Sydney's inner west on Friday
Hundreds of residents went for a COVID-19 test in Rozelle after a Woolworths employee in neighbouring Balmain contracted the virus
Sydney Local Health District said the Rozelle testing clinic was 'busy today' following the Balmain Woolworths staff member's positive coronavirus infection.
'We understand your concerns and we thank you for stepping up to be tested,' they said in a Facebook post.
'Our Rozelle team is working very hard to test all arrivals, but we have other sites where you may be able to get tested more quickly today.'
Share this article
'Please consider attending the clinics at RPA, Canterbury and Concord hospitals, or Redfern Health Centre.'
There are two additional drive-through clinics in the inner west, in Summer Hill and Homebush.
'Please help us share the load so our amazing nurses can continue doing their very best to keep everyone safe.'
Balmain, in the city's inner west, is on high alert after a Woolworths employee worked two shifts at the grocery store on June 27 and 28 while infectious. Pictured: The COVID-19 drive-through clinic at neighbouring Rozelle
A health worker in a face mask is seen directing traffic at Rozelle's drive-through clinic
Healthcare workers conduct COVID-19 tests at a drive-through testing centre in Rozelle
The supermarket worker had been in hotel quarantine in Victoria from June 11 to June 26 after flying in from Bangladesh and tested positive to COVID-19 on the fourth day of his quarantine period.
He then flew from Melbourne on June 26 and returned to work at the Woolworths in Balmain on June 27, with his employer noticing he had minor symptoms.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the level of virus detected in the man is low but authorities are treating him as infectious as a precaution.
He worked at the store on June 27 and 28, and 50 employees are now in isolation after being identified as close contacts, with the store undergoing a deep clean.
Dr Chant said the man was assessed as non-infectious and cleared of the virus before he was discharged from Melbourne quarantine on June 26.
The Woolworths employee worked at the Balmain store (pictured) on June 27 and 28
Dozens of cars are forced to wait for their coronavirus test in Rozelle, Sydney, on Friday
Residents in Balmain who feel unwell are urged to get tested for coronavirus after a Woolworths employee contracted the virus
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said anyone who visited the Woolworths store on either of the two days should come forward and be tested if they have respiratory symptoms.
Health authorities are also contacting people who sat around the man on Jetstar Flight JQ510 from Melbourne to Sydney on June 26.
The state's confirmed COVID-19 cases stand at 3,211 after no new cases were reported in NSW on Friday, with one patient currently in intensive care.
'It's a very good day for a health minister when you can say we had absolutely no new cases,' Mr Hazzard said on Friday.
But a school on the NSW Central Coast, Green Point Christian College, has been closed after being informed of a possible COVID-19 case in a senior male student, who will have additional tests.
Healthcare workers are seen at the drive-through testing site in Rozelle, Sydney's inner west, on Friday
There were no new cases were reported in NSW on Friday. Pictured: The COVID-19 drive-through testing clinic on Friday
