Fears that infected security guard working at a quarantine hotel in Sydney could have sparked another coronvirus cluster after visiting a market and a busy courthouse
A security guard has contracted COVID-19 while working at a Sydney quarantine hotel.
The security guard worked at the five-star Marriott Hotel in Circular Quay on August 3, 4, 7 and 8.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the security contractor 'most probably' became infected after coming into contact with a return traveller from the US.
The man then visited Sydney Markets at Flemington on August 9 between 8am and 4pm last Sunday while infectious.
The security guard worked at the five-star Marriott Hotel in Circular Quay on August 3, 4, 7 and 8 as part of Australia's hotel quarantine program
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant (pictured) said the security contractor 'most probably' became infected after coming into contact with a return traveller from the US
He then worked at Parramatta local court on August 10 and 11 between 8.30am and 12.30am.
There are now fears the quarantine breach could spark another Sydney cluster and NSW Health has advised anyone who visited the markets or the court to monitor their condition and get tested if any symptoms develop.
Speaking on Tuesday Dr Chant said that the man's job would have brought him into contact with a lot of people.
'This person had worked in a variety of settings, a lot of which would have brought him into contact with other people, particularly in areas concerned about community transmission,' she said.
Virus detectives were able to trace the source of the infection back through Genome sequencing, which revealed the infection was not linked to previously known outbreaks originating from Victoria.
'What that's identified is that it's quite a different sequence to other clusters such as the Crossroads Hotel … this is a different virus, and matches this [overseas traveller],' Dr Chant explained.
The entrance to the Marriot Hotel in Sydney's Circular Quay is pictured
Victoria’s disastrous second wave of COVID-19 cases was sparked by a series of breaches within hotel quarantine.
A lack of training for private security staff and severely lapse infectious controls led to thousands of new infections across the state.
There are now fears the breach in Sydney could lead to a similar outbreak in New South Wales.
Dr Chant said she didn't believe a quarantine breach occurred at the Marriot but the CCTV footage is being examined and an investigation is underway.
New South Wales Police are in charge of heading up the state’s hotel quarantine program, however some private sector security staff have been recruited to assist.
Three people were diagnosed with coronavirus in NSW on Tuesday following seven new cases on Monday.
More to come.
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