Clusters linked to Sydney school, Liverpool Hospital and Lidcombe clubs grow
NSW has reported nine new COVID-19 cases on Friday, prompting authorities to upgrade warnings for those who attended two venues in Sydney's west.
Five of the new cases were locally acquired with links to previously reported cases including another student from Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook, two household contacts linked to known cases, a staff member at Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club and another Liverpool Hospital staff member.
A sixth case was locally acquired with no known source and three cases were returning travellers in hotel quarantine.
Overnight an additional case was identified in a student at St Vincent’s College in Potts Point. The school is today closed for deep cleaning while investigations and contact tracing are under way.
The detection of the second case among staff at the Dooleys Lidcombe Catholic Club has prompted NSW Health to reclassify anyone who attended the venue at the following times as close contacts, who must self-isolate for 14 days, get tested for COVID-19 and monitor their health.
- Friday August 7, from 5pm to 6.30am;
- Saturday August 8, from 4.30pm to 11.30pm;
- Sunday August 9, from 1pm to 9pm;
- Monday August 10, from 12pm to 9.30pm.
Close contacts must remain in isolation for 14 days after they last attended the club, even if they test negative.
Dooleys Catholic Club at Lidcombe.Credit:Google Maps
Testing is available at a drive-through clinic at Auburn Community Health Centre and at Auburn Medlab Pathology.
Three Liverpool Hospital staff members have tested positive for COVID-19. They are in isolation and all close contacts have been identified and advised to isolate.
The first staff member detected with COVID-19 is linked to a known cluster. The contact tracing team is continuing its work to identify how the other two staff acquired the coronavirus.
There is no evidence that there is an ongoing risk in the hospital, and patients should continue to visit to receive the medical care they need, NSW Health said.
People who were at Liverpool Hospital on August 6 from 7am to 3pm, August 7 from 7am to 3pm, and August 8 and 9 between 5am and 1.30pm are advised to monitor for symptoms and get tested should even the mildest symptoms develop.
There were 29,696 tests carried out in the latest 24-hour reporting period.
NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said as COVID continues to circulate in the community maintaining high testing rates is vital. He urged anyone with the mildest of symptoms to come forward for testing.
There are 131 COVID-19 cases being treated by NSW Health including six people in intensive care units, of whom five are ventilated.
Of the known clusters, there are now:
- Three cases linked to Our Lady of Mercy School Parramatta
- 21 cases linked to Tangara School Cherrybrook cluster
- 11 cases linked to Soldiers Club Batemans Bay
- 116 cases linked to Thai Rock Restaurant Wetherill Park
- 70 cases linked to the July funeral events in the Bankstown area
- 34 cases linked to Thai Rock Restaurant Potts Point
- 58 cases linked to Crossroads Hotel Casula
- Two cases linked to Dooley’s Lidcombe Catholic Club
More to come