The
NSW Delta Variant Outbreak began on 16 June 2021 and due to state government public health mismanagement quickly spread
across Greater Sydney.
However,
apart from infected individuals briefly visiting or driving through
the seven council areas in north-east NSW within the Northern NSW
Local Health District or locals returning home after being infected elsewhere, no local community transmission occurred until after
the Morrison-Berejiklian-Hazzard push for people to accept that they need to ‘start living
with COVID’.
The
region’s first community transmissions began after 13 September
2021 – at that time these seven local government areas had been free of locally acquired community transmission for 165 days.
The
Clarence Valley was the last to have Delta Variant community transmission occur
when on or about 5 October it was discovered that 4 local residents
in the Grafton postcode area were infected with COVID-19.
The
number of infected people in the Grafton area stood at 7 by 8pm on 8
October 2021.
However,
NSW Health record keeping is becoming somewhat erratic between
jurisdictions and, on the basis of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ it
is possible that the total may be nearer to 9 infected Clarence
Valley residents.
Despite average vaccination rates across Northern NSW local government areas being markedly less than the 70% of the population 15 years of age and older set by the National Cabinet, Premier Dominic Perrottet is ignoring the public health implications for regional areas and, for this one in particular with it high numbers of retirees in combination with its limited number of public hospitals adequately staffed and equipped to treat very ill COVID-19 patients.
With infection numbers still growing and sources of infection not yet fully explored - especially in the Clarence Valley - Perrottet has decided the business sector and budget deficits are more important than the state's most enduring resource, its people.
Like his predecessor, seemingly preferring to listen primarily to party political donors, vested business interests and the politically self-interested opinions/advice of Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook (Sydney) Scott Morrison, Perrottet has decided to open up the Northern Rivers region to Greater Sydney:
With only an oral one liner of 'no day trips' before 25 October 2021, coming from the Deputy Premier Paul Toole as a cynical figleaf.
Just 35 hours remain until trying to stop the infection spread gathering momentum becomes much harder for local communities.
Northern
NSW Local Health District,
media
release,
9 October 2021:
To
8pm 8 October, seven new cases of COVID19 have been reported for the
Northern NSW Local Health District.
Of
these, three cases are in the Grafton area of Clarence Valley Local
Government Area (LGA), two are in the Kyogle LGA, one in the Lismore
LGA and one case is in the Ballina LGA,
One
of the Kyogle cases is a household contact of a positive case. The
Ballina case and Lismore case are linked to known clusters.
Investigations
into the sources of the other infections is underway. Contact tracing
is underway to determine any venues of concern, and public health
teams have begun contacting a number of close contacts associated
with these cases.
Four
cases are being cared for in hospital, all are in a stable condition.
To
8pm 8 October, there have now been 64 total cases confirmed in
Northern NSW since 16 June when the current Delta outbreak in Sydney
began.
We
would like to remind the community of expanded clinic hours available
in Grafton this weekend:
Grafton
Base Hospital, 184 Arthur Street, Grafton, open seven days. Saturday
and Sunday 7am – 7pm.
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.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WHOLE
OF NEW SOUTH WALES COVID-19 STATUS
NSW
Health, media
release, excerpt, 9
October 2021:
NSW
recorded 580 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours
to 8pm last night.
One
new case was acquired overseas in the same period, bringing the total
number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 68,057.
Sadly,
NSW Health is reporting the deaths of eleven people who had COVID-19
– three women and eight men. One person was in their 50s, one was
in their 60s, four people were in their 70s, two were in their 80s,
and three were in their 90s.
Five
people were from south-western Sydney, three were from western
Sydney, and three were from south-eastern Sydney.
Four
were not vaccinated, three had received two doses of a COVID-19
vaccine, and four had received one dose.
A
woman in her 80s died at the Hardi Guildford Aged Care Facility,
where she acquired her infection. This is the sixth death associated
with an outbreak at the facility.
A
woman in her 80s died at the Allity Beechwood Aged Care Facility,
where she acquired her infection. This is the fifth death associated
with an outbreak at this facility.
NSW
Health extends its sincere condolences to their loved ones.
There
have been 425 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since 16 June 2021 and
481 in total since the start of the pandemic.
There
have been 62,384 locally acquired cases reported since 16 June 2021,
when the first case in this outbreak was reported.
There
are currently 812 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 163
people in intensive care, 75 of whom require ventilation.
There
were 79,894 COVID-19 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with
the previous day’s total of 103,388…….
To
11.59pm on Thursday 7 October across NSW, 89.8 per cent of the
over-16 population had received a first dose COVID-19 vaccine, and
71.5 per cent were fully vaccinated.
Of
the 580 locally acquired cases reported to 8pm last night, 130 are
from South Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD), 98 are from
Hunter New England LHD, 74 are from Western Sydney LHD, 54 are from
Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD, 42 are from Sydney LHD, 42 are from South
Eastern Sydney LHD, 41 are from Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, 31 are
from Central Coast LHD, 20 are from Southern NSW LHD, 17 are from
Western NSW LHD, nine are from Northern Sydney LHD, seven are from
Northern NSW LHD, six are from Far West LHD, four are in correctional
settings and five are yet to be assigned to an LHD.
NSW
Health's ongoing sewage surveillance program has detected fragments
of the virus that causes COVID-19 in sewage samples collected from
across NSW, including West Wyalong in the Riverina region, Dungog in
the Hunter New England region, Crescent Head on the mid north coast,
Ballina on the far north coast, Gulargambone in western NSW and
Merimbula in southern NSW.
Everyone
in these areas is urged to monitor for the onset of symptoms, and if
they appear, to immediately be tested and isolate until a negative
result is received…...
