COVID-19 Delta Variant Outbreak Northern NSW: in answer to a sense of frustration felt by some

A few locals have wondered aloud why there is so little in the mainstream media concerning the Delta Variant Outbreak in Northern NSW. One or two have said ‘It’s almost as if we’ve been forgotten’ or words to that effect.

There is no clear explanation for the one-moment-hot-one moment-cold approach taken towards this particular parcel of regional New South Wales.

Though I rather suspect media are not being overly encouraged to look at the wider regional picture.

Because this wider picture shows that until the NSW Government began to ramp up the push to ‘live with COVID’, began to elaborate on the ‘freedom’ it was going to give the Greater Sydney area and played about with public health orders so that, perhaps accidentally, it increased population mobility at a time when this carried risk, there were still rural and regional local government areas such as 6 of the 7 in Northern NSW which had not ever experienced residents in their own communities becoming infected with either the original SARS-CoV-2 virus or the more infectious Delta Variant whilst going about their daily lives.

Focusing on just this one region for even a short period might make other rural and regional areas across NSW and, their local government areas, consider exactly what did an overly compliant state government forcefully impose on them to keep Greater Sydney and industry quiet in the lead up to a federal election.

OVERVIEW

There are seven local government areas in north-east NSW and like a number of other coastal zone councils they all recorded cases of COVID-19 by March 2020.

Byron Bay recorded its first contacts with COVID-19 from 14 March 2020 through to 8 April 2020 – all 16 cases were overseas sourced infections with no community transmission in the local government area. However, on 25 July 2021 the first 2 confirmed locally acquired cases were recorded – just 39 days after the Delta Variant began in Sydney.

COVID-19 entered Tweed Shire on the NSW-Qld border on or about 18 March 2020, when both a confirmed interstate-sourced case & a locally acquired case with no links to a know infection were recorded. From then until April 2021 a further 16 COVID-19 cases were recorded as overseas sourced and there was no apparent community transmission. Tweed’s first locally acquired case that was clearly linked to community transmission was recorded on 30 September 2021 - just under 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Clarence Valley recorded its first confirmed COVID-19 cases began on 20 March 2020. However, all these 8 cases were from overseas and did not infect local communities. From 29 March 2020 until 4 October 2021 there had been no confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded in the valley. Its first confirmed locally acquired cases were recorded on 5 October 2021 – just under 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Ballina recorded its first COVID-19 case on 22 March 2020. The next day saw its first locally acquired COVID-19 infection, followed by another 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases over the next 15 months, of which only 2 were locally acquired. On 1 July 2021 an overseas sources COVID-19 case was recorded in Ballina, but it wasn’t until about three months later on 6 October 2021 that locally acquired COVID-19 cases began to occur in a distinct community transmission pattern – just under 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Lismore City recorded its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on 23 March 2020 and it was an overseas sourced infection with the next 5 cases up to 15 July 2020 being 5 overseas sources & 1 interstate sourced infection. Up to that point there was no community transmission in the local government area. It remained that way for the next 7 months. Then on 15 September 2021 the very first confirmed case of locally acquired COVID-19 was recorded – 15 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

Richmond Valley was first introduced to COVID-19 on 31 March 2020 when an overseas sourced COVID-19 case was recorded. A second overseas sourced COVID-19 case was recorded on 28 April 2020. Then the virus disappeared from view. It wasn’t until 28 September 2021 that the first confirmed locally acquired COVID-19 case was recorded in the local government area – a little over 3 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

The notable exception to all this was little Kyogle. It had no overseas, interstate or from elsewhere in NSW, COVID-19 cases recorded in the local government area at all – never ever – and up to 27 October 2021 still doesn’t. Its first confirmed locally acquired case was recorded on 28 September 2021 – over 21 months after SARS-CoV-2 first entered Australia and over 4 months after the Delta Variant Outbreak began in Sydney.

NOTE: As data is regularly reviewed, NSW Health from time to time removes or otherwise alters its COVID-19 notification records. The numbers and dates cited in this post were accurate up to 26 October 2021.

BACKGROUND

According to NSW Health in the week ending 25 October 2021 there were 2,207 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and 4,141 active cases.

In that time period every single local health district contained confirmed COVID-19 cases and virus fragments were found in 109 sewerage treatment plants.

As at 26 October 2021 51 NSW hospitals had 321 inpatient cases of COVID-19 & 21 of these hospitals also had COVID-19 patients in intensive care units. There was also an additional 2,361 infected people being treated outside of a hospital setting.

As of 8pm on Tuesday, 26 October 2021 there have been 122 confirmed cases of locally acquired COVID-19 infection in the Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) since on or about 13 September 2021 when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant first entered north-east New South Wales from the Greater Sydney area.

As yet the infection numbers are relatively low.

The confirmed cases location breakdown in Northern NSW between 13 September & 26 October 2021 appears to be:

Tweed Shire - 6 cases + 1 infection contracted elsewhere in NSW

Byron Bay - 7 cases

Ballina - 11 cases

Kyogle - 16 cases

Richmond Valley - 20 cases

Lismore City - 25 cases

Clarence Valley - 36 cases.

In the last 22 days up to 5 October 2021 the Northern NSW Local Health District covering the 7 local government areas in north-east NSW has had 41 cases COVID-19 community transmission after its resident populations being COVID free for 165 days

 

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.