As of 8pm on Wednesday 19 January 2022 there were 19,791 new confirmed COVID -19 cases reported by NSW Health in the last 24hr period. - comprising 17, 647 positive PCR tests and est. 2,144 self-reported positive rapid antigen tests.
Given the level of COVID-19 case under reporting this represents due to the combined state & federal mismanagement of the public health response (including disease test, trace & contact measures), conservatively the real NSW daily new case number on 19 January is estimated in excess of 98,995 persons.
Currently there are 2,781 COVID-19 cases admitted to NSW hospitals, including 212 people in intensive care, 68 of whom require ventilation.
As at Monday 17 January 166,122 people in the state were managing their COVID-19 illness at home or in insecure accommodation.
In the 24hrs to 8pm on 17 January a total of 25 people died with a COVID-19 diagnoses - 16 men and 9 women – with 65% of those dead being between 70 years of age to over 100 years of age.
As of 19 January 2022 there were 278,324 active COVID-19 cases across New South Wales.
The positivity rate on those daily PCR tests is 24.08% - so far above the World Health Organisation benchmark for an epidemic virus within a controllable range (under 5%) that there is no reason to see these numbers signalling the beginning of the end of the pandemic in New South Wales or Australia generally. Indeed, by week ending 15 January 2022 all 15 NSW local health districts were recording positivity rates of more than 5 %.
According to a Northern NSW Health District (NNSWLHD) media release on 20 January 2022:
To 8pm 19 January, 1,051 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Northern NSW Local Health District, including 601 positive PCR tests and 450 positive rapid antigen tests (RATs).
By LGA:
Ballina 63 [968 active cases]
Byron 78 [1,384 active cases]
Clarence Valley 45 [458 active cases]
Kyogle 14 [89 active cases]
Lismore 48 [591 active cases]
Richmond Valley 61 [374 active cases]
Tenterfield 2 (Woodenbong & Urbenville post code that comes under Lismore PHU)
Tweed 290 [3,391 active cases]
NOTE: My annotations in red come from data recorded for 19 January 2022 on “Map of NSW PCR tests and cases reported from PCR tests”
There are 50 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with 6 of these in ICU. (Tenterfield is in a different Local Health District, but postcodes put cases in NNSWLHD).
** Please note these RAT results may be from within the previous seven days, and there may be some cases included in these numbers where people have reported positive RATs on multiple days and/or where people have also had a positive PCR test during the same reporting period.
Quite frankly the NNSWLHD’s inability to accurately record and quantify the number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Northern NSW makes a mockery of any claim to have a genuine test, trace, contact & isolate/quarantine system in place. A failing they share with NSW Health and NSW Coalition Government. Therefore I am at a loss as to how I might accurately record the real number of daily new cases by postcode for the 7 local government areas within this health district.
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