Fears of Sydney hospital COVID outbreak
More than 100 patients and staff are isolating amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak at two Sydney hospitals after a student nurse worked for five days while infectious.
NSW recorded 22 new local coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, taking the tally for the outbreak that began on June 16 to 171.
All are linked to previous cases, but only 11 were in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period.
However, the state's health authorities are bracing for the possibility of an outbreak in the hospital system, after a student nurse was found to be coronavirus-positive after the 8pm deadline.
The 24-year-old Sydney woman worked for up to five days while infectious in Fairfield Hospital's rehabilitation ward and the cardiology ward and general abdominal surgery ward at Royal North Shore Hospital.
One of her household contacts has tested positive to the virus so far.
Dr Chant said the affected wards had been locked down and staff and patients tested almost immediately after the diagnosis, including patients who were recently discharged.
All tests returned so far have been negative, NSW Health said on Wednesday evening.
"It's much too early to tell whether we will have any transmission," Dr Chant said.
Families of patients are also being contacted, but visitation limits have been in place since Saturday.
Public health alerts were also issued for another two Virgin flights, after a second flight attendant - a close contact of the first - tested positive to the virus in Queensland.
Anyone on Virgin flight VA924 from Brisbane to Sydney between 8am and 9.30am on Saturday June 26 and VA957 from Sydney to Brisbane between 3.55pm and 5.30pm that afternoon must immediately get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
People in the Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour regions have woken to their fifth day of lockdown, joined by residents of six other Australian cities.
More than 12 million people are now under lockdown across NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory thanks to outbreaks of the Delta virus strain.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has suggested the transmissibility of the variant means some restrictions will likely remain in place even after lockdown.
Mandatory use of QR code check-ins, meanwhile, will apply from July 12 and be extended to all workplaces, gyms and retail businesses in NSW.
