Perrottet Government finally commits to bringing the Volunteer Rescue Association's emergency communications capability up to scratch

 

The Volunteer Rescue Association of NSW (VRA) formed in 1969 says of itself :

NSW VRA has over 1500 volunteer members across 53 squads, including specialist rescue operators working for their communities across New South Wales. They are primary responders for Road Crash Rescue, General Land Rescue, Vertical Rescue and many types of specialist rescue encountered by Emergency Service personnel and primarily operate in rural and regional New South Wales. The NSW VRA also includes Aerial Patrol, Remote Area Communications, Cave Rescue, Ski Patrols, Swift Water Teams and other Rescue Support Teams.

The VRA funding model is a mix of government grants, community fundraising and donations. This model results in a very tight budget.

So when in 2018 then Premier & Liberal MLA Gladys Berejiklian and her then Treasurer & Liberal MLA Dominic Perrott had the bright idea of charging commercial rental rates for use of around 800 communications towers on Crown land and abolishing rent rebates, the VRA feared it would have to cease using these towers as the organisation couldn’t bear the additional costs.

Tower rental costs in rural and regional low population density areas were foreshadowed to increase by 19 per cent.

By November 2019 the NSW Coalition Government appears to have decided that rebates on communication tower rents could still be made to eligible organisations on application, but these rebates would still require payment of the statutory minimum rent.

I suspect that the $4.7 million government funding injection mentioned in the article below is in part a workaround for a situation that Premier Perrottet himself helped create in 2018-2019.

Echo, 9 January 2023:

The Volunteer Rescue Association of NSW (VRA) will soon have access to seamless communications coverage across the state.

Minister for Emergency Services and Resilience and Minister for Flood Recovery Steph Cooke said a $4.7 million government funding injection will overhaul the VRA’s radio network to bring it into line with the other emergency services.

The funding will provide for 421 new radios and equip 100 vehicles with Vehicle as a Node technology.

Vehicle as a Node

The Vehicle as a Node capability integrates radio, mobile phone and satellite networks to provide a communication system that is resistant to ‘blackspots’, which often occur when natural disasters impact infrastructure.

VRA Acting Commissioner Andrew Luke said the upgrade will also give volunteers access to a duress button that is centrally monitored.

‘At the press of a button our members can request urgent assistance if they are in danger, enabling an immediate response,’ he said.

A consistent and reliable radio network

Ms Cooke said this multi-million dollar boost will give VRA volunteers access to a consistent and reliable radio network which is compatible with other agencies and guarantees their ability to communicate anywhere in NSW.

‘The VRA is the only agency in the State solely dedicated to rescue and its volunteers and staff have done an incredible job, particularly over the past 12 months supporting flood operations.

‘The independent Flood Inquiry highlighted ways we can enhance our emergency response and we will continue to ensure first responders have the resources they need to keep regional, rural and remote communities safer and stronger.’

‘Being able to send and receive life-saving communications in all conditions is vital to the safety of everyone, including our 1,218 members,’ said Acting Commissioner Andrew Luke.

NSW Perrottet Government in full election mode 9 months out from the state election and its hypocrisy is showing beneath a cloak of environmental concern

ARR News, 20 June 2022:

Australian Rural & Regional News has asked a few questions for the Ministers, set out below the release.

Matt Kean, NSW Treasurer, Minister for Energy (NSW), James Griffin, Minister for Environment and Heritage (NSW), Dugald Saunders, Minister for Agriculture, Minister for Western New South Wales (NSW), Joint Media Release, 19 June 2022

Farmers around the State will be supported to adopt additional sustainable practices through a groundbreaking $206 million program delivered in the NSW Budget.

Treasurer Matt Kean said this landmark investment will reward farmers who voluntarily reduce their carbon emissions and protect biodiversity.

“This is great news for farmers and the environment. This funding will help improve biodiversity and lower emissions across NSW, and our farmers will receive tangible benefits for sustainable land management practices,” Mr Kean said.

Mr Kean said NSW has an early mover advantage to secure a leading position in the emerging global marketplace for low carbon food and fibre from producers who are also improving our biodiversity.

“This new era of natural capital could unlock up to $10 billion of ‘Environment, Social and Governance’ financing in Australia,” Mr Kean said.

“Natural capital will reduce farmers’ risks from climate change and biodiversity loss while improving long-term farm productivity.”

Minister for Environment James Griffin said the Sustainable Farming Program will help to shore up the long-term health of the environment and the agricultural sector.

“This $206 million new program is completely voluntary. We’re proposing to develop an accreditation scheme for farmers who manage their land for biodiversity and carbon, while enhancing their productivity,” Mr Griffin said.

“Just as we know what the Forestry Stewardship Council certification system represents, this is about developing an easily recognisable accreditation for sustainable farms.

“We know that investors and consumers are increasingly looking for sustainably produced products, and this program will support our producers to meet that demand.”

Many farmers are already undertaking sustainable practices as part of their day to day operations and this program represents an opportunity for diversified income, with the program offering farmers payments to secure and maintain accreditation.

In turn, the accreditation has potential to increase their market access globally, helping farmers sell their products at a premium and access emerging environmental markets. The accreditation will not impact existing accreditation schemes such as those used to access the European beef markets.

Accreditation could be achieved by actions such as restoring habitat, fencing for dam and riparian areas, rotating crops, and using best-practice feed and fertiliser practices.

Minister for Agriculture and Western NSW Dugald Saunders said the program will be developed in close consultation with farmers and landowners.

“The NSW Government will work with farmers and landholders on options to tap into the emerging natural capital market,” Mr Saunders said.

“Farmers in NSW are already natural capital specialists and should be rewarded for the productive and environmental outcomes they generate.

“This announcement will give farmers and other landholders more options to diversify their income while maintaining ultimate decision making power on how to sustainably and productively manage their property.”

Farmers will receive a payment for reaching milestones on agreed sustainable practices under an accreditation framework.

The accreditation program will be developed in consultation with stakeholders, and complements existing private land conservation programs offered by the NSW Government.

Learn more: www.environment.nsw.gov.au/sustainable-farming

Questions

Australian Rural & Regional News asked a few questions of the Ministers. Their response will be included here once received.

1. When do you expect the programme to actually start?

2. Who will be the 'stakeholders' to be consulted in regard to the accreditation process?

3. Have there been any community meetings in rural & regional communities to discuss this programme? If not, are they planned as part of the consultation process?

A question not yet being asked is 'How does this media release fit with a Perrottet Government farm forestry policy which encourages farmers to log native timber stands on their land for additional income and to support the dying timber industry, thereby further threatening extinction of the NSW Koala population by 2050?'

With less than 50 per cent of native forests on private land in Northern NSW and a deliberately weakened private native forestry code, that’s a clear threat to what biodiversity and undisturbed habitat remains on local farmland.

And for what? For a very few years worth of construction timber, power poles, flooring, furniture and firewood.

NSW Upper House report on health & hospital services in regional, rural and remote areas of the state documents instances of lack of access to specialist services, understaffing, poor treatment outcomes, inadequate ambulance presence, long wait times, high out-of-pocket expenses and discrimination

 

It is hardly a secret that the NSW public health & hospital system has been under stress for much of the last two years and remains under stress in 2022.

Nor is it a secret that the ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic and seasonal respiratory disease have played a big part in this organizational stress.

However, they are not the only contributing factors and in rural, regional and remote areas health services stress has been building for decades.

There is a reported absence of a GP or chronic shortage of health professionals in: Bonalbo, Eurobodalla, Gunnedah, Deniliquin, Edward River, Manning Valley, Port Stephens, Temora, Glen Innes, Gulgong, Wee Waa, Wollondilly, Mid-Western Regional Council, Coleambally, Warren Shire Council, Broken Hill, Wentworth, Merriwa, Tenterfield, Parkes, Coonamble, Gwydir, Bourke, Hay and Leeton, with another 41 Western and Far West NSW towns identified as being at risk of not having a practicing General Practitioner within the next 10 years.

Often there is only one doctor on duty at smaller regional, rural or remote hospitals and 27 per cent of all adverse events (clinical incidents or mishaps) occurred in rural and remote health services.

In addition, the NSW Ambulance service is frequently overwhelmed by a combination of low staff numbers on a given day, vehicles tied up by being 'ramped' at over stretched hospitals and increased travel times.

A NSW Upper House inquiry was established on 16 September 2020 to inquire into and report on health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote New South Wales.

It received 720 submissions.

The following are extracts from the Inquiry report tabled in the NSW Parliament on 5 May 2022.

NSW LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE NO. 2, REPORT 57, May 2022, “Health outcomes and access to health and hospital services in rural, regional and remote New South Wales”

Committee comment

3.126 As already outlined in this report, the inquiry has heard evidence from a number of witnesses providing first-hand examples of inadequate health services and care in rural, regional and remote New South Wales. There is no doubt that doctor and clinician workforce issues are a key, if not the key to explaining many of these experiences. The committee acknowledges and appreciates the many doctors and clinicians who gave up their time and shared their expertise and personal experiences to inform the inquiry of the issues they face in rural and remote settings, including their ideas about ways to improve the current situation. These accounts provided detailed and thoughtful evidence as to both the challenges and opportunities to address them.

3.127 It is clear to the committee that the availability of doctors and clinicians in rural and remote locations is short, in some cases critically short of where it needs to be. While Chapter 2 detailed the impact this shortage is having on members of the community, the committee has also heard doctors and clinicians describe the unsustainable working conditions, particularly with respect to hours of work arising from insufficient supply of doctors and clinicians to cover the available work demands. The committee is concerned about doctor and clinician shortages and maldistribution in rural and remote settings, and the risks it poses to the health of community members, doctors and clinicians alike.

3.128 Consequently, the committee finds that rural, regional and remote medical staff are significantly under resourced when compared with their metropolitan counterparts, exacerbating health inequities…..

3.130 Indeed, there can be little doubt that the doctor workforce challenge is complicated and compounded by the division of responsibilities between Commonwealth and State. In fact, both levels of government acknowledged the Commonwealth/State divide as one of the most challenging aspects of health care delivery. But the existence of these challenges is not new. The committee is of the view that efforts to overcome them have been inadequate to date, ultimately failing to achieve the necessary structural reform. Consequently, the committee finds that the Commonwealth/State divide in terms of the provision of health funding has led to both duplication and gaps in service delivery.

3.131 The committee therefore recommends that the NSW Government urgently engage with the Australian Government to establish clear governance arrangements and a strategic plan to deliver on the reforms recommended below to improve doctor workforce issues. This should occur at the ministerial level to ensure the necessary political and policy momentum is maintained. We also believe that with a renewed commitment to work together to break down barriers and achieve health reform, progress can be made on those initiatives that both levels of government have identified as meritorious, but where progress has been slow or non-existent.

3.132 Despite the role played by the Australian Government, the committee also believes that, given the interdependency between primary health and hospital care, there is a need for the NSW Government to investigate ways to support the growth and development primary health sector in rural, regional and remote areas and support the sector’s critical role in addressing the social determinants of health and reducing avoidable hospitalisations for the citizens of New South Wales. [my yellow highlighting]

The report made 44 specific recommendations which are outlined on pages xv to xxii of the report found at:

https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/lcdocs/inquiries/2615/Report%20no%2057%20-%20PC%202%20-%20Health%20outcomes%20and%20access%20to%20services.pdf

Formal response from the Perrottet Government in not due until November 2022.

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.

THE LONG LIST OF CRITICAL RETAIL PREMISES YOU CAN ENTER IF YOU ARE UNVACCINATED OR HAVE ONLY RECEIVED ONE VACCINATION DOSE, PLUS CHECK-IN & FACEMASK RULES - COMMENCING 11 OCTOBER 2021 UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE,

NSW Health:

Rules for critical retail premises

Anyone is allowed to enter critical retail premises. Critical retail premises are:

• supermarkets

• grocery stores

• shops that mainly sell food or drinks, like butchers, bakeries, fruit and vegetable shops, and delicatessens

• kiosks

• petrol stations

• banks and financial institutions

• hardware and building supplies

• landscaping material supplies

• rural supplies

• shops that mainly sell:

• pet supplies

• newspapers, magazines or stationary (for example, newsagents)

• office supplies

• maternity or baby supplies

• medical or pharmaceutical supplies (for example, chemists)

• alcohol (for example, liquor stores)

• post offices

• garden centres and plant nurseries

• vehicle hire businesses but not businesses that sell vehicles

• shops that mainly carry out repairs of mobile phones

• laundromats and drycleaners.

For any other retail premises, or a business that provides goods or services, you can only visit these premises if the business chooses to offer Click-and-Collect.

If you visit critical retail premises, you must:

• check in with the Service NSW app or provide your contact details to the occupier

• follow the face mask rules.

Exemptions

Vaccination rules do not apply to people who are at your premises:

• because of a service to assist vulnerable members of the public, for example a food bank or a service providing for the needs of homeless persons;

• to purchase food or beverages to be consumed off the premises;

• to attend a small funeral or memorial service or small wedding service;

• to use a click and collect service.

Rules for certain businesses in regional and rural NSW

If your business is re-opening at 70% fully vaccinated and your staff live outside Greater Sydney, your staff have longer to become fully vaccinated.

Greater Sydney includes Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Shellharbour and Wollongong local government areas.

If your business is located outside Greater Sydney, you are still required to ensure all people over the age of 16 who visit your premises (except for your staff) are fully vaccinated.

Rules for staff at certain businesses in regional and rural NSW

If you:

Live outside Greater Sydney (including Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Shellharbour and Wollongong local government areas) and

Work at a business that is re-opening at 70% fully vaccinated

you can go to work on 11 October 2021 if you have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccination.

By 1 November 2021, you can only go to work if you are fully vaccinated.

Face mask rules from 11 October 2021

Everyone in NSW will be required to wear a face mask in:

• in an indoor area of premises other than a place of residence, or
• in an indoor area on common property for residential premises, or
• at a public transport waiting area or in a vehicle or vessel being used to provide
• a public transport service, or
• working at a hospitality venue and dealing directly with members of the
• public, or
• on a domestic commercial aircraft, including when the aircraft is flying above NSW.

You can remove your face mask if you are:

• eating or drinking

• communicating with another person who is deaf or hard of hearing

• at work, and:

• the nature of the work makes the wearing of a fitted face covering a risk to the person's, or another persons' health and safety,

• where clear enunciation or visibility of your mouth is essential

• where the work is in an indoor area and no other person is in the area

• asked to remove their mask for identity purposes

• in an emergency situation

• providing goods and services and you need to remove your mask to provide those goods or services properly

• doing exercise except in an indoor area as part of a gym class

• at a correctional centre, place of custody, or hospital

• a resident at an aged care were facility

• a guest in a hotel/motel room and in your room

• in the process of getting married

• working alone in an office (until another person enters)

You need to wear your face mask again as soon as the reason for taking it off has ended.

For the fill list of Dos and Don’ts go to: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/business/covid-safe-business/vaccination-rules-for-businesses-their-staff-and-customers#toc-rules-for-businesses-opening-at-70 

About those up to 40,000 Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine doses withdrawn from rural & regional New South Wales at the end of July 2021.....

In 2021 the New South Wales Higher School Certificate written exams for Year 12 students commence on 19 October and conclude on 12 November.

In Greater Sydney there are est. 52,400 students enrolled in Year 12 and it seems that the NSW Berejiklian Government has been unable to persuade Australian Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison to release enough Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine to protect an est. 24,153 of these students living in Western and South Western Sydney during the current highly infectious Delta Variant Outbreak.  Despite the fact that children and adolescents are over represented in the current infection growth within the state and there is as yet no end date in sight for this viral outbreak.

ABC News, 28 July 2021

On 28 July 2021 NSW Health announced that: Up to 40,000 Pfizer doses will be allocated from NSW Health's rural and regional supply of COVID-19 vaccine to help Year 12 students in south west and western Sydney get back to school for face-to-face learning on 16 August.

By 31 July people in regional NSW were beginning to report receiving cancellation notices for scheduled appointments for first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine, as well as at least one vaccination hub being stripped of Pfizer completely.

Twitter, retrieved 1 August 2021

One has to wonder about the logistics of the Premier and Health Minister’s plan to first dose vaccinate those approx. 24,153 high school students - who along with their peers are currently studying from home during the Greater Sydney lockdown – over a short window of 18 days.

Given the ever rising infection numbers, people living in rural and regional New South Wales are openly wondering if any thought has been given to the impact on their communities once the Delta Variant firmly establishes itself outside of Greater Sydney.

In NSW the COVID-19 community transmission count & hospital admissions grow in this highly infectious Delta Variant Outbreak

 

Scanning electron microscopic image of a cell infected with SARS-COV-2 virus particles, shown in yellow. IMAGE: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)

 

According to NSW Health data the number of community transmitted COVID-19 infections since the beginning of the Delta Variant Outbreak now stands at 1,652 men, women and children including 5 deaths as of 8pm on 21 July 2021. 

Those five deaths represent est. 8% of all COVID-19 deaths which occurred in the New South Wales population.

It only took the virus until Day 36 of this variant outbreak to infect 1,652 NSW residents. In 2020 the original COVID-19 virus took until about Day 214 to reach that level of cumulative community infection in the state.

Between 4-10 July 2021 a total of 97% of all COVID-19 infections had been contracted by community transmission - as opposed to 52% in the second half of 2020. 

From 12 June to 10 July 2021, 100% of locally acquired cases were genome sequenced and found to be the Delta variant of concern and 51% of overseas acquired cases were identified as having COVID-19 variants of concern Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1) and Delta/Kappa (B.1.617)]. 

As of 21 July this year, est. 44% of the state's total locally acquired COVID-19 infections since the pandemic began occurred in the last 36 days. 

According to a news report, on Wednesday 21 July 2021 there were 106 people being treated for this virus in hospital, an increase of 11 from Tuesday. Some 23 of these are patients have been placed in intensive care and 11 of these are being ventilated.

The Delta Variant Outbreak has now spread to regional/rural New South Wales and as of 12.01am on 21 July, an est. 60,342 people across Orange City, Blayney and Cabonne local government areas are under a stay-at-home public health order until 28 July 2021.

 

According to a 19 July 2021 Northern NSW Local Health District media release more than 40 close contacts of 2 infectious people who travelled through Chinderah near Murwillumbah on 13-14 July have been placed in 14-day home isolation.

UPDATE: By 8pm on 22 July 2021 the total number of locally acquired infections since the start of the Delta Variant Outbreak in NSW has reached 1,788 cases, including 6 deaths. The NSW Premier announced a State of Emergency will be declared.

NOTE:

All weekly epidemiological reports issued by NSW Health have a time lag of around 6-8 days before publication, however these reports possibly allow for a clearer understanding of how this outbreak is progressing.

• COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance in NSW - Epidemiological week 27, ending 1o July 2021 [19 July 2021]

• COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance in NSW - Epidemiological week 26, ending 3 July 2021 [14 July 2021]

• COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance in NSW - Epidemiological week 25, ending 26 June 2021 [6 July 2021]

• COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance in NSW - Epidemiological week 24, ending 19 June 2021 [28 June 2021]

• COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance in NSW - Epidemiological week 23, ending 12 June 2021 [18 June 2021]

• COVID-19 Weekly Surveillance in NSW - Epidemiological week 22, ending 5 June 2021 [11 June 2021]

NSW Health daily media releases giving overnight breakdowns of new infections can be found here:

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/2021-nsw-health.aspx

SARS-CoV-2
IMAGE: NIAID