Northern NSW starved of timely relevant COVD-19 information by Perrottet Government

 

Byron Bay local government area
IMAGE: .idcommunity 

Byron Bay local government area covers 566.6 sq kms with an est. resident population of 35,773 men, women and children and a population density of 63.13 person per sq km.

 

As of 14 November 2021 only 78.7% of the population 16 years of age and older were fully vaccinated. On 21 November the fully vaccinated rate had risen to 80.9%.

On 17 November 2021in NSW postcode 2481 NSW Health recorded a confirmed COVID-19 case in the Byron Bay local government area. The source of the individual’s infection is listed as “Overseas”. Presumably that person entered Northern NSW sometime on the afternoon of 16 November 2021.

On the same date another confirmed case for NSW postcode 2483 in the Byron Bay local government area was recorded and the source of that individual’s infection was listed as “interstate”

On 19 November 2021 in NSW postcode 2481 NSW Health recorded a confirmed COVID-19 case in the Byron Bay local government area.

Then again on 22 November 2021 in NSW postcode 2483 NSW Health recorded a confirmed COVID-19 case in the Byron Bay local government area.

The source of individual infection cannot be determined for 19 & 22 November 2021 confirmed cases because NSW Health has discontinued daily source of infection database updates as of 19 November 2021. At the same time it was announced the daily location of confirmed cases database was also being discontinued.

A Northern NSW Local Health District media release on 24 November revealed a confirmed COVID-19 case recorded for 23 November 2021 which is referred to as “a household contact of an existing case”.

News of the Byron Bay "Aquarius" backpackers hostel lockdown did not become public knowledge until Wednesday 24 November 2021, when the state MLA for Ballina released the information on social media.

Given that NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has previously stated that he not NSW Health will control release of COVID-19 information, one can only assume it is at his direction that rural & regional NSW is being staved of information concerning infection spread within districts, cities, towns and villages.

ABC News, 25 November 2021:

A backpacker hostel in Byron Bay on the NSW north coast has been placed into a snap seven-day lockdown after a positive COVID case and 84 close contacts were identified.

Police confirmed they were "assisting NSW Health at a hostel on Lawson Street in Byron Bay" and have referred any further inquiries to NSW Health.

The ABC has contacted NSW Health but officials there have yet to provide any further information about the operation underway at the backpackers.

News of the positive case came as thousands of school students descended on the north coast for the traditional schoolies celebrations.

Ms Smith says food and health support is being provided to the dozens of guests who are now in lockdown at the backpackers.

Ms Smith posted at statement about the situation to her verified Facebook page on Wednesday night.

"I'm closely monitoring a situation in Byron Bay where a positive COVID-19 case and 84 close contacts have been identified at Aquarius Backpackers in Byron Bay," her statement read.

"Police are monitoring compliance 24/7 over the next seven days.

"My thoughts are with everyone in that situation as it will be a tough time and I will keep checking to make sure that people are getting the support they need."

Coalition Government #COVIDIOTS force Morrison into yet another backflip - on vaccine mandates

 

The Saturday Paper, POST, 23 November 2021:

"Prime Minister Scott Morrison has backflipped on vaccine mandates, following a rebellion of Coalition senators that threatens to derail his parliamentary agenda.

What we know:

• Five Coalition senators crossed the floor to vote for a failed One Nation bill that would have overridden state government vaccine mandates (The Age); 
• Two of the five, Gerard Rennick and Alex Antic, have threatened to withhold their support for all government bills over the issue;
• To defuse the rebellion Morrison declared business owners should set their own rules on vaccinations for customers and staff, in a dramatic reversal of previous support for mandates (The New Daily); 
• The prime minister targeted rules in Queensland in particular preventing unvaccinated people from visiting cafes;
• The opposition noted Morrison was singling out a Labor state government rule also applied by the Coalition government in NSW, and had repeatedly backed vaccine mandates for workplaces previously;
• Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie unleashed a scathing speech in opposition to One Nation’s vaccine bill, declaring “Being held accountable for your own actions isn't called discrimination – it is called being a bloody adult” (SBS); 
• It comes amidst a rising tide of protests against vaccines and lockdowns globally (Crikey)." 

NSW Delta Variant Outbreak Update: Lives could have been saved if the NSW Government's Covid-19 Crisis Committee had followed the medical advice it received

After 16 June 2021 when the Delta Variant Outbreak began, the NSW Coalition Government’s COVID-19 Crisis Committee was composed of up to seven permanent members – these included then Premer Gladys Berejiklian, then Deputy-Premier John Barilaro, then Treasurer & now NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, the Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard, Member for Penrith & now Deputy-Premier Paul Toole and, the then members of government now ministers in the Perrottet Government Victor Dominello and Stuart Ayres .The state’s Chief Medical Officer Dr. Kerry Chant advises/makes recommendations to this committee.

It seems what many have long suspected about this committee is true……..

News.com.au, 22 November 2021:

Newly released documents reveal the NSW government ignored health advice to apply the same coronavirus lockdown rules across all of Sydney.

An email sent by NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant to Health Minister Brad Hazzard on August 14 showed she recommended “consistent measures across greater metropolitan Sydney”.

But the extra-tough lockdown rules in Sydney’s west and southwest were not brought in line with the rest of the city until September 20.

A virus expert has said lives could have been saved if the harsher rules were implemented across Sydney instead of just in select areas.

Former premier Gladys Berejiklian, who was leading the state’s pandemic response at the time, consistently argued she was relying on health advice in decisions around the lockdown.

A western Sydney opposition politician said the email proved locals “were right to feel targeted” and called the revelations “absolutely horrific”.

“The Government hated it when we pointed to a Tale of Two Cities. They accused us of being political – evidence we were speaking the truth,” Lakemba MP Jihad Dib said on Monday.

“When the health advice said one thing, the Government did the other. We were right to feel targeted.”

Sydney’s latest lockdown began in the last weekend of June, after an airport breach caused the Delta variant of the coronavirus to spread in the city.

Although the outbreak began in the eastern suburbs, the spread soon got worse in the city’s west.

By the second week of July, police had begun a crackdown in the western suburbs to make sure locals adhered to the lockdown.

And by the time Dr Chant wrote her August 14 email, the rules had tightened several times in an expanding area of western and southwestern Sydney where the virus was spreading the fastest.

Among the harsher rules was a ban on leaving hotspot LGAs, whereas people in other parts of the city were allowed more freedom of movement.

But the top doctor recommended the rules be made consistent.

“Implement consistent measures across greater metropolitan Sydney with outdoor masks, consistent 5km rule and authorised workers only,” she wrote in a list of recommendations.

The email was written at a time when Covid-19 infections were rising fast.

“Case numbers are high and escalating and likely to reach 1000 cases a day very quickly ... this is the worst outbreak in Australia during the pandemic,” Dr Chant wrote.

The first recommendation contained in the email was to “intensify the action in western Sydney and Nepean Blue Mountains where case numbers are escalating”.

The same recommendation was made for rural and regional Aboriginal communities, where Dr Chant also wished to see the vaccine rollout prioritised.

She also recommended further restrictions such as a limit on who could take advantage of child care services, closing retail stores further, and reducing “non-essential activity in manufacturing/construction”.

Other recommendations in the email included “1 hour of exercise per day”, “mandate vaccination in aged care, disability, and health care” and “urgently extend the isolation payments to all LGAs of concern”.

Dr Chant also recommended locking down regional NSW, advice which the government heeded within hours of receiving her email.

An epidemiologist shown the health advice on Monday said it was difficult to say exactly what the chief health officer was advocating for based purely on her email.

University of South Australia epidemiology professor Adrian Esterman said it was “ambiguous” as to whether Dr Chant called for western Sydney’s rules to apply across the city.

“If I was chief health officer, I would have wanted to come down hard across the whole of greater Sydney,” he said.

“They would have had a much better chance of driving down numbers, and secondly, they would have avoided stigmatising people in those western suburbs.”

Professor Esterman also said lives could have been saved if all of Sydney had been locked down harder.

“Of course, if you cut down cases you cut down on deaths,” he said.

“Governments have terrible decisions to make, do we close up and kill the economy? Or do we open and accept there are going to be deaths and people who get seriously ill? It‘s a horrible equation.”.

Dr Chant has previously testified to a parliamentary committee she would give a mix of verbal and written advice to the government.

The government had kept most of her health advice secret until Labor MPs recently managed to access parts of it through an order in parliament…..

The curfew was in place in the western Sydney hotspots from August 23 to September 25, and prevented people in those areas from leaving their homes between 9pm and 5am.

Another email released to parliament showed Dr Chant had recommended a curfew as early as July 29, although she specified it would be to achieve a “messaging effect” and underscore the importance of complying with the other rules that were in place.

“A curfew should be considered for the messaging effect as we need to signal the absolute urgency of the current situation with strong compliance presence,” Dr Chant wrote in the email to Mr Hazzard…..

NSW-Qld Border Zone to open up for cross-border travel by all zone residents from 17 December 2021 - with conditions

Tweed Daily News online, 19 November 2021:

As of December 17, anyone entering Queensland from a declared hot spot will be required to have a border pass, be fully vaccinated and have a negative Covid-19 test within 72 hours.

NSW, Victoria and the ACT are currently considered hot spots by Queensland.

Medicare covers the costs of a Covid-19 test for anyone experiencing symptoms however the tests are not covered for travel purposes.

Residents who live in the border zone, which extends south to the Clarence Valley and out to the western boundary of NSW, are permitted to cross into Queensland for work and volunteering with a single vaccine jab requirement.

NED-4769 Queensland's Roadmap to Freedom

Crossing is also permitted for health, essential shopping and providing care for border zone residents.

However it remains unclear how the negative Covid-19 test will be feasible for border residents, especially the estimated 16,000 who cross daily for work.

Cross Border Commissioner James McTavish said he had repeatedly requested advice on the expected conditions for cross border residents regarding the issues.

“The Queensland Government is yet to provide that advice,” Mr McTavish said.

“We’d like to see full vaccinated people exempted from the testing requirement entirely if they are from the border region.

“If the testing regime is enforced, it should be free for border residents.”

He said advice was also sought about how the Queensland Government planned to manage traffic and conditions ahead of the 80 per cent mark.

A Queensland Health spokeswoman said there would be a border zone in place to ensure all border zone residents, regardless of vaccination status, could continue to enter Queensland for essential purposes once the border opened in December, without the need to meet the traveller testing requirements.

“There may be less testing requirements for fully vaccinated people entering the border zone or entering Queensland from the border zone for non-essential reasons,” she said.

“We are continuing to work through the specific requirements for the 80 per cent vaccination milestone.

“Detailed information will be made public when available.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was questioned in parliament on Thursday night about residents being asked to fork out $150 for a Covid-19 test and why the state would not cover the cost.

“These are really strict requirements and I make no apology for them being strict because we are keeping Queenslanders safe,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Acting chief health officer Peter Aitken on Friday said it would be a challenge to force Queensland visitors to fork out $150 for a Covid-19 test.

Dr Aitken said health authorities were considering scrapping the requirement or making the test free.

“We recognise that... enormous challenge for people, for police, and it’s a discussion we’re having as to ensuring that double-vaccinated people have greater access,” he said.

 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison appears to view the very real danger that Australia is heading towards political violence from extremist mobs as all just part of the game to keep him in power

IMAGES: ABC NEWS & Herald Sun

The Monthly, 18 November 2021:

 Scott Morrison is, if nothing else, painfully predictable. As many (including myself) anticipated on Tuesday, the prime minister’s belated condemnation of the threatening mob outside the Victorian Parliament was always going to come with a “but” – a dog whistle to the protesters, an endorsement of their cause, a swipe at overbearing state governments. Today, following the disturbing news that a right-wing extremist had been charged over threats to kill the Victorian premier, and reports that neo-Nazis, seeking to radicalise other protesters, had infiltrated rallies against the state’s pandemic bill (not to mention anti-vaxxers’ rape and death threats forcing the shutdown of the WA premier’s office), Morrison did exactly as expected.

Asked this morning for his response to the violence being incited against politicians, the PM said that threats and intimidation had no place in Australia. But after a few cursory sentences about “civil society” and “respect” (just enough for many media outlets to report it as a rebuke), Morrison pivoted to justification and understanding. “There are many people who are feeling frustrated,” he said, arguing that it was time for governments to stop “telling Australians what to do”. “Australians have done an amazing job when it comes to leading us through this pandemic, but now it’s time for governments to step back. And for Australians to take their lives back,” he added ominously.

Morrison’s sympathy for the “frustrated” protesters has more than a minor whiff of Donald Trump’s “very fine people” comments after the deadly Charlottesville riots, not to mention the “I know how you feel” video during the also-deadly January 6 Capitol insurrection. While some media outlets declared that Morrison had “hit out” at the protesters, there’s little doubt that, as with Trump’s comments, the dog whistle was louder than the denunciation.

Eighty per cent of the PM’s answer, in fact, was focused on the protestors’ justified frustrations and state government overreach, with an added pushback against mandates and restrictions for the unvaccinated (policies to which, as Niki Savva notes, he owes the impressive vaccination rates he loves to crow about). People should be able to get a coffee in Brisbane, added Morrison, regardless of whether they’re vaccinated – a swipe at the Queensland government’s newly announced restrictions. (The state government has since labelled Morrison’s comments a “reckless” undermining of its vaccination efforts.) There’s little doubt that Morrison is trying to appease some of his own senators, who are still vowing to withhold their votes unless he pushes back against mandates. But he’s also indulging the “frustrated” protesters, with little concern for the dangerous levels of misinformation flying about......

Guy knows that the Victorian government needs some sort of bill to be able to manage the pandemic – which is very much ongoing – beyond December, and as supporting crossbencher MP Fiona Patten noted on RN Breakfast, the alternative (state of emergency legislation) “is far more draconian than the legislation we were trying to put through”. But once again, the facts don’t really matter to the PM – all that matters is that the very “frustrated” people know he’s in their corner, even if it means encouraging extremists and continuing to confuse those they are seeking to influence.

This is all getting very real and very dangerous, and many fear that we are on a dark path to the kinds of political violence increasingly being seen in the US and the UK. But to Scott Morrison, it is just another game.

Read the full article here.

IMAGE: news.com.au

 

You obviously support this, otherwise you'd be calling on the police to arrest her. pic.twitter.com/oJYOTw1kBy

— Guildford (yes him) 😕🙁😐 (@Guildford) November 16, 2021

Not just Vic Premier being threatened - seems members of his government are possibly being targeted too pic.twitter.com/PJbet14Q9e

— no_filter_Yamba (@no_filter_Yamba) November 17, 2021

 

7 News, 17 November 2021:

WA Premier Mark McGowan’s electoral office has been closed due to ongoing security risks.

In a doorstop interview on Wednesday, McGowan revealed that his Rockingham office had been the target of death threats and bomb threats ever since the state government announced mandatory vaccination for much of the state’s workforce.

A week after an armoured tank rolled up outside his electoral office, McGowan has confirmed that his staffers had even been subjected to rape threats.

COVID-19 Update: Northern NSW 16 November 2021

 

As at 8pm on 16 November 2021 there have now been 177 confirmed COVID-19 cases across the 7 local government arears within the Northern NSW Local Health District since 13 September 2021 when the Delta Variant Outbreal first reached Northern NSW reached .

A total of 64 of these confirmed COVID-19 infections (36.15 per cent of all Northern NSW cases since 13 September 2021) have been recorded in the first 16 days since NSW Premier & Liberal MP for Epping Dominic Perrottet opened up Northern NSW to Greater Sydney, interstate & overseas travellers. That is equivalent to 4 new COVID-19 infections a day.

CONFIRMED LOCALLY ACQUIRED COVID-19 CASE LOCATION BREAKDOWN IN NORTHEN NSW BETWEEN 13 SEPTEMBER & 16 NOVEMBER 2021:

Tweed Shire - 7 cases + 2 infections contracted elsewhere in NSW

Byron Bay - 7 cases + 2 confirmed infections within the LGA not entered into NNSWLHD records as these individuals were no longer in the region.

Ballina - 15 cases

Kyogle - 22 cases

Richmond Valley - 25 cases + 1 case confirmed on 10 Nov 2021 where infection was contracted overseas

Lismore City - 42 cases

Clarence Valley - 59 cases.

AS of 14 November 2021 the fully vaccinated rate for the 16 years old to 90 years and over resident population in Northern NSW was:

Tweed Shire – 83.3%

Byron Bay – 78.7%

Ballina – 92.6%

Kyogle – 84.9%

Richmond Valley – 86.4%

Lismore City – 86.2%

Clarence Valley – 89.2%

Equivalent of 5 people a day are falling ill with COVID-19 in Northern NSW since NSW Premier Perrottet lifted public health order restrictions on travel into the region

By now North Coast Voices readers would be aware that 5 of the 7 local government areas in Northern NSW had been effectively COVID-19 free until after 13 September 2021 when the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant entered the region from Greater Sydney and community transmission began.

Up until then these 5 LGAs having only had overseas travellers and other visitors test positive to the virus before they left the area without infecting local residents. 

The 6^th and 7^th LGAs were the outliers – one recording two presumed locally acquired COVID-19 cases on the same day in July 2021 which did not lead to local infection spread and, the other recording three separate presumed locally acquired cases between March 2020 and June 2021 – again not leading to infection spread.  

With those exceptions, from 25 January 2020 up to that Monday morning in September 2021, the region had experienced no community transmission of the COVID-19 virus within a population of est. 307,047 men, women and children.

The global pandemic was seemingly passing by without calling in. Until Morrison and Berejiklian insisted that rural and regional communities should be forced to 'live with COVID' just as their metropolitan cousins did.

As of 8pm on Friday 12 November 2021 according to NSW Health there have been 171 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Northern NSW Local Health District in the 60 days since the Delta Variant Outbreak reached the region.  At least 170 of these confirmed cases were the result of community infection now within the region.

A total of 58 of these confirmed COVID-19 infections (33.91 per cent of all Northern NSW cases since 13 September 2021) have been recorded in the first 12 days since NSW Premier & Liberal MP for Epping Dominic Perrottet opened up Northern NSW to Greater Sydney, interstate & overseas travellers.

That figure is roughly equivalent to 5 people a day falling ill with COVID-19 since 1 November 2021.

THE CONFIRMED LOCALLY ACQUIRED COVID-19 CASE LOCATION BREAKDOWN IN NORTHEN NSW BETWEEN 13 SEPTEMBER & 12 NOVEMBER 2021 APPEARS TO BE:

Tweed Shire - 7 cases + 2 infections contracted elsewhere in NSW

Byron Bay - 7 cases + 2 confirmed infections within the LGA not entered into NNSWLHD records as these individuals were no longer in the region.

Ballina - 14 cases

Kyogle - 21 cases

Richmond Valley - 25 cases + 1 case confirmed on 10 Nov 2021 where infection was contracted overseas

Lismore City - 40 cases

Clarence Valley - 57 cases.

Delta Variant Outbreak 2021: Community transmission in Northern NSW as of Monday 8 November 2021

Depiction of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant
BBC News online. Getty Images

In the 24 hours up to 8pm on Monday 8 November 2021 there were 3 locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the Grafton area of Clarence Valley Local Government Area (LGA) and one case is in the Lismore LGA.  All 4 cases are linked to known cases.

By 8 November the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Northern NSW had reached 153 people, since SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant first entered the region on 13 September 2021 and began to spread.

THE CONFIRMED LOCALLY ACQUIRED COVID-19 CASE LOCATION BREAKDOWN IN NORTHERN NSW BETWEEN 13 SEPTEMBER & 8 NOVEMBER 2021 APPEARS TO BE:

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

Byron Bay - 7 cases + 2 confirmed infections within the LGA not entered into NNSWLHD records as these people were no longer in the region.

Ballina - 13 cases

Kyogle - 17 cases

Richmond Valley - 25 cases

Lismore City - 35 cases

Clarence Valley - 50 cases.

Ranging wider, New South Wales recorded 222 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on 8 November 2021, including 3 deaths.

There are currently 254 people infected with COVID-19 in public hospital beds, with 42 people in intensive care, 20 of whom require ventilation.

The total number of people infected since SARS-CoV-2 first entered the state in January 2020 now stands at 77,081 cases with 607 individuals dead. The overwhelming majority of those infected or dead (> 90% to date) contracted the virus since the Delta Variant Outbreak began on 16 June 2021. 

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.