Thirteen new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8.00pm last night, and two cases were excluded following further investigation, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3,410.
As cases resulting from community transmission continue to be reported, NSW Health is calling on people across the state to redouble their efforts to stop the virus spreading.
Everyone needs to be aware that there has been transmission in venues such as hotels and restaurants, gyms and social gatherings and therefore they should exercise particular caution in those situations. While it is not a legal requirement, it would be preferable and safer for the time being to avoid all non-essential travel, and not host or attend gatherings of more than 10 people at home (not withstanding that the legal limit is 20 people). Everyone should observe social distancing and hygiene measures and consider wearing a face mask in situations where social distancing is not possible.
It is critical that anyone feeling unwell – even with the mildest of symptoms such as a runny nose or scratchy throat – seeks testing and self-isolates until they get the result. Stay at home, and do not go to work or catch public transport until you are cleared of COVID-19.
All South Western Sydney clinics are open and will continue to operate while there is a need. A full list of COVID-19 testing clinics is available or people can visit their GP.
There were 15,903 tests carried out in the 24-hour reporting period, compared with 21,167 tests in the previous 24 hours. There are 90 COVID-19 cases being treated by NSW Health, with two in intensive care. Neither is now ventilated, though one is on ECMO. In NSW, 2,799 people are known to have recovered from COVID-19.
The 13 new cases are:
There are now 50 cases associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster, 26 cases associated with the Thai Rock restaurant and eight cases associated with the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club.
NSW Health does not comment on suspected cases of COVID, only confirmed cases that pose an ongoing public health risk.
If a confirmed case of COVID-19 attends a venue when they may be infectious, NSW Health carries out a risk assessment on that venue to determine whether other people may have been exposed and whether there is a public health risk.
NSW Health notifies the venue if it is deemed there is a public health risk and advises them of the actions they need to take, for example, closure for deep cleaning.
As case investigations continue, we have found a number of venues have been attended by cases. Information on all venues is available at NSW Government - Latest news and updates.
People who work in high-risk settings such as healthcare facilities or aged care homes must not to attend work if they have symptoms and must get tested immediately. People should also not visit relatives in these settings if they have even the mildest of symptoms or have recently returned from Victoria or attended affected venues.
It is essential people follow directions they receive about home isolation and quarantine and maintain COVID-safe practices of physical distancing of 1.5 metres, cough or sneeze into their elbow, and regularly wash their hands.
Counts reported for a particular day may vary over time with ongoing enhanced surveillance activities.
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