In the last 22 days up to 8pm on 5 October 2021 the Northern NSW Local Health District covering the 7 local government areas in north-east New South Wales - from the southern boundary of the Clarence Valley to the NSW-Queensland border - has had 41 confirmed cases of COVID-19 community transmission.
Before that the region’s resident populations had been COVID free for 165 days.
However, by Day 107 of the far north coast’s COVID free period its fate had already been sealed. Because the NSW Coalition Government’s COVID-19 Crisis Committee, urged on by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, had already decided that all of New South Wales should learn to ‘live with COVID’.
It was not only then NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, then Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Health Minister Brad Hazzard making this political decision to listen to big business & a bullying prime minister rather than to wiser heads.
Then Treasurer and current NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, Services NSW Minister Victor Dominello, and Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres were part of the crisis committee and were apparenently gung-ho for the regions to be stripped of full public health protections (PHPs) before resident populations 15 years & over were 70% fully vaccinated.
So that inevitably the local health district in which I live which had zero community transmission became seeded with the SARS-Cov-2 Delta Variant under the Lib-Nats state government’s learning to ‘live with COVID’ plan.
NSW Health, Northern NSW Local Health District, media release, 6 October 2021:
There have been three cases of COVID-19 reported in the Northern NSW Local Health District to 8pm yesterday, Tuesday 5 October.
Two cases are in the Casino area of Richmond Valley Local Government Area (LGA), and one case is in the Lismore LGA.
All three are household contacts of confirmed cases. Two of the cases had been self-isolating and one had been infectious in the community for 24 hours.
Two cases are now being cared for in hospital, and both are in a stable condition.
To 8pm 5 October, there have now been 41 total cases confirmed in Northern NSW since 16 June when the current Delta outbreak in Sydney began.
NNSWLHD can confirm there have now also been four positive cases in the Grafton area reported since 8pm.
These case are under investigation, and will be reported in NSW Health’s figures tomorrow.
Expanded clinics will be available in Grafton this week:
Grafton Base Hospital, 184 Arthur Street, Grafton, open seven days. Today, Wednesday 6 October until 7.30pm. Thursday and Friday 7am – 7pm.
Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology Grafton South, Coles Complex, Shop 9, 4 Bent Street, South Grafton. Open 7am – 4pm Thursday and Friday. Please note – this clinic will only be providing COVID-19 testing over these days, no general pathology.
Further dates and times for these testing clinics will be advised in due course.
For the week of 19-25 September there were 10,562 tests conducted among local residents of Northern NSW Local Health District. In the four days to 30th September a further 6,372 tests were conducted.
Thank you to everyone who has come forward for testing. If you have had a negative test and then develop new symptoms at a later date, please come and get another test. It’s important that we keep testing numbers as high as possible, to identify any new cases among our community.
Investigations are continuing into any possible public venues of concern relating to confirmed cases, and more information will be provided as soon as it’s available.
NSW Health does not disclose details about venues unless there is a public health reason to do so.
Stay-at-home orders are in place for Lismore LGA, Casino, and Kyogle LGA until 11 October due to an increased COVID-19 public health risk.
Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if you can’t work or study at home.
Anyone with even the slightest symptoms should get tested as soon as they feel unwell. There are more than 500 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW. Find a clinic at COVID-19 testing clinics or contact your GP.
We encourage people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as they are able to. Find available bookings at the Australian Government’s COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder (previously eligibility checker), or you can also call Health Direct on 1800 571 155 for assistance to book.
No comments:
Post a Comment