SARS-CoV-2 DELTA & OMICRON VARIANTS IN NSW & NORTHERN NSW, DECEMBER 2021 - Part Two

Following on from SARS-CoV-2 Delta & Omicron Variants in NSW & Northern NSW, 1-11 December 2021.........

Across New South Wales there have now been est. 5,151 confirmed new cases of COVID-19 in December 2021 to date. That is roughly equivalent to 396 people falling ill with COVID-19 infections every day.

That's 396 people unexpectedly being quarantined in hospitals, hotels or in the home - 396 people with family, friends, workmates or accidental close contacts who may also have to isolate, test & sometimes go into quarantine themselves.

The NSW public health system may have fallen to an AMBER stress level over the last 28 days, but that doesn't mean if infection numbers keep building rural and regional hospitals in particular won't begin to feel the strain. Already some local health districts are re-imposing stricter hospital visitor limits. 

From one regional perspective this is the situation as it is unfolding .....

Based on NSW Health & Northern NSW Local Health District, media release excerpts, COVID-19 data for 12 -13 December 2021:

# NSW recorded 536 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday 12 December 2021. 

There is a total of 64 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant of concern in NSW. There were nine new cases confirmed with the Omicron variant overnight, and more are expected as results of genomic testing are confirmed. 

There are currently 171 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 24 people in intensive care, nine of whom require ventilation.

The Australian Dept. of Health's State & Territories Report lists NSW as having 4,677 active COVID-19 cases as at 9pm on 12 December 2021. Active cases are those in which it is less than 15 days since a person's COVID-19 symptoms commenced or regardless of days since symptoms began the person is still being treated in hospital.

• Twenty-eight new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Of the cases, 15 were in the Byron Local Government Area, five in the Ballina LGA, six in the Tweed LGA and two in the Lismore LGA. Seventeen of the 28 cases are linked to an existing case or cluster, while 11 remain under investigation. To date, no cases in NNSWLHD have been identified as the Omicron variant of concern. 

Five cases have now been linked with the Woody’s Night Club in Byron Bay, while a total of 46 cases have been linked with the Coorabell Hall event on 4 December. Nine cases have now been linked with No Bones in Byron Bay, connected with a function held there on 7 December. 

Two COVID-positive patients are being cared for in hospital in Northern NSW, with around 120 cases being cared for in the community by our Virtual COVID Care team. [my yellow highlighting] 

It would appear that as of 12 December 2021 there were est. 122 active COVID-19 cases in Northern NSW.

# NSW recorded 804 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Mon 13 December 2021, including 1 death. 

A total of 85 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant of concern have been confirmed in NSW. However, NSW Health expects further Omicron cases to be confirmed in the coming days as results of genomic testing are confirmed. 

There are currently 168 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 21 people in intensive care, nine of whom require ventilation. A further 3,342 people infected with COVID-19 are being treated outside of a hospital setting.

NSW Health records 5,179 active cases as at 13 December and 459 healthcare workers in isolation.

Across NSW as of 13 December, 93.2% of people aged 16 years to 90 years and over are fully vaccinated and, 77.7% of children aged 12 to 15 years are fully vaccinated.

According to NSW Health, 26 cases of the 804 new cases recorded for 13 December are in the Northern NSW Local Health District.

• Twenty-six new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 13 December.

Of the cases, 22 were in the Byron Local Government Area [in postcodes 2483, 2482, 2481, & 2479] , one in the Ballina LGA [in postcode 2477], two in the Tweed LGA [in postcodes 2486 & 2487] and one in the Kyogle LGA [in postcode 2474].

Fifteen of the 26 cases are linked to an existing case or cluster, while 11 remain under investigation. To date, no cases in NNSWLHD have been identified as the Omicron variant of concern.

Five cases have now been linked with the Woody’s Night Club in Byron Bay, while a total of 49 cases have been linked with the Coorabell Hall event on 4 December. Ten cases have now been linked with No Bones in Byron Bay. [my yellow highlighting]

Currently the equivalent of 13 people a day are falling ill with COVID-19 in Northern New South Wales.

UPDATE

# NSW recorded 1,360 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday 14 December 2021.

A total of 110 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant of concern have been confirmed in NSW, including 1 death.

There are currently 166 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 24 people in intensive care, seven of whom require ventilation.

• Included in those 1,360 new cases are 45 new cases within Northern NSW Local District Health Service boundaries as at 8pm, Wednesday 14 December.

  Of the cases, 33 were in the Byron Local Government Area, eight in the Ballina LGA, two in the Lismore LGA, one in the Tweed LGA and one in the Clarence Valley LGA. Twenty-eight of the 45 cases are linked to an existing case or cluster, while 17 remain under investigation….There are currently no COVID-positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW. No further cases have been linked with the Woody’s Night Club in Byron Bay, while a total of 62 cases have now been linked with the Coorabell Hall event on 4 December. Thirteen cases have now been linked with No Bones in Byron Bay.

  
  

  By 14 December 2021 the official NSW public health system stress level is AMBER with Red for selected areas. To date hospitals and healthcare facilities in the Richmond and Tweed Valleys of Northern NSW; and in Newcastle, Maitland and Lake Macquarie areas of Hunter-New England are set to red status.

  
  

  9 News, 14 December 2021:

  
  

  From 12.01am on December 15, unvaccinated residents in the state will be given all the same freedoms as those who are fully vaccinated and density limits in all settings will be removed…..only some rules – such as masks in some settings and occasional COVID-19 check-ins – remaining. [my yellow highlighting] 

  *

It was the Baird Coalition Government which created the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS) and successive NSW Liberal-Nationals governments have allowed it to become a trojan horse for unsustainable development and financial rorting

It was the Baird Coalition Government which created the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme (BOS) which was established under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. 

 Under this scheme, applications for development or clearing approvals must set out how impacts on biodiversity will be avoided and minimised. The remaining residual impacts can be offset by the purchase and/or retirement of biodiversity credits or payment to the Biodiversity Conservation Fund. 

 Landholders can enter into Biodiversity Stewardship Agreements to create offset sites on their land to generate biodiversity credits. These credits are then available to the market for purchase by developers, landholders or the Biodiversity Conservation Trust to offset the impacts of development or clearing. 

However it was a scheme loathed by the mining industry from the start as an impediment on its commercial interests and by the industry's supporters, such as National Party political robber baron and then Deputy Prime Minister John Barilaro. It was also a scheme heartily disliked by local government areas fighting to retain biodiversity, maintain healthy water sources and protect remaining forest.

Clarence Valley Independent, 15 December 2021:

A report tabled at the August 24 Clarence Valley Council (CVC) meeting warns that the NSW Biodiversity Offset Scheme (BOS) has had the opposite effect to its intention: instead of protecting the valley’s natural environment, it has “ensured a net loss to biodiversity, often of our most threatened flora and fauna”.... 

Staff advised councillors of four key issues: “a net loss of biodiversity across the LGA, a lack of stewardship sites in the Clarence (currently, there are only two stewardship sites in the Clarence), a lack of transparency in the BOS, and inconsistencies in offset prices. 

 “There is little confidence in this legislation for biodiversity conservation as offsets can be facilitated outside of the CVC local government area,” staff wrote. 

 “…credit suppliers are located all over the state, hence, if a developer can source credits, they are unlikely to be sourced within the Clarence, creating a ‘net loss’ of biodiversity.” 

On the lack of transparency, staff wrote: “Many plant community types on the floodplain, which comprises a large percentage of land being developed in the Clarence, are threatened ecological communities (TEC), which are to be offset for the same TEC, forcing developers to pay into the fund as the sole way to offset credits, as there are no locally available credits. 

“There is no way to determine if this money deposited in the trust is then used to facilitate recovery or protection of TECs in the Clarence – creating biodiversity loss.”....

Clarence Valley Council was not alone in expressing Northern NSW concerns as the Inquiry's submissions list confirmed. 

The NSW Parliament Portfolio Committee No. 7 - Environment and Planning's Inquiry into the Integrity of the NSW Biodiversity Offsets Scheme will not report until 1 March 2022, so the jury is still out on the Perrottet Coalition Government's response to its yet to be completed investigation.

However, one issue is being addressed.......

Environment reporter Lisa Fox (left)writing in The Guardian, 10 December 2021:

Officials working on conservation matters in the New South Wales environment department have been barred from holding financial interests in the state’s biodiversity offset scheme.

This follows an investigation of the department’s management of potential conflicts of interest.

Senior officials told a parliamentary inquiry on Friday that staff who work on the offset scheme or in the department’s biodiversity, conservation and science sections had been told they could not work in those roles and hold personal interests in properties and companies that were involved in the financial trade of offset credits.

It follows two external investigations that were commissioned by the department after Guardian Australia uncovered a series of failures in offset programs.

Offsets exist to allow developers to compensate for environmental damage in one area by delivering an equivalent environmental benefit in another.

But there have been problems with the system, including in one case a 20-year delay in delivering environmental protection and so-called “double-dipping” by developers in areas of urban sprawl.

Guardian Australia also revealed the state and federal governments bought tens of millions of dollars in offset credits from properties linked to consultants whose company advised the government on development in western Sydney.

The reporting triggered a string of reviews, including one by the legal firm Maddocks and one by the consultancy Centium examining how the environment department had managed potential conflicts of interest associated with staff holding financial interests in offset sites….

Dean Knudsen, the deputy secretary for biodiversity, conservation and science, told Friday’s hearing of the offset inquiry there had been fewer than five officials with such financial interests.

After the reviews, the department has introduced a new conflict of interest protocol that deems some investments “high risk” and presenting an “unacceptable risk to the integrity” of the scheme.

Knudsen said as a result, staff in certain sections could no longer participate in the scheme and those with historic interests had 12 months to divest.

“For departmental staff we’ve effectively said you’re not supposed to be participating in the scheme,” he said.

“If you have historically, we’ve told them what you have to do to effectively distance them from that.”

The Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann, who is chairing the inquiry, said the changes were welcome.

“This should have happened at the start of the scheme to help prevent the types of windfall gains by a few individuals with detailed knowledge of the offset industry,” she said.

“However, we also need to see a tightening of conflicts of interest [rules] within the industry itself, including within ecological consultancies.”

Officials were also asked about delays in securing permanent protection of offset sites to compensate for habitat destruction caused by coalmines in NSW.

Responses to questions on notice in the parliament from the independent MLC Justin Field state that of the 41 coalmines approved in New South Wales in the past decade, one did not require offsets, 14 had not yet triggered the requirement to deliver their offsets, nine had land set aside but permanent protections were not yet in place, and 17 had “substantially finalised” their offsets.

….but certain aspects – such as finalisation of some of the legal arrangements protecting the site – were outstanding.

Officials agreed the process for securing offsets for mines had not been “as timely as [they] should be”.

Field said it was not good enough that “not one single coalmine approved in the last decade has secured their required offsets through finalised in-perpetuity arrangements”.

“The government needs to improve the transparency around what the hold-up is, put a deadline on finalising these arrangements and hold these mine operators to that deadline,” he said. 

Read the full article here.

SARS-CoV-2 Delta & Omicron Variants in NSW & Northern NSW, 1 -11 December 2021

 

In the week ending 17 June 2021: community transmission of COVID-19 stood at 4 new cases; across the state there were only 41 active cases remaining, the average infection growth factor was 1.33; only 1 infected person was currently hospitalized with another 36 being cared for in the community; and, only 3 out of the state's 15 local health districts had recorded confirmed COVID-19 cases during those 7 days.

Life seemed so straightforward then as it appeared that New South Wales might just be starting to turn an epidemiological corner.

However, that particular June community transmission number represented the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Outbreak and, due to mismanagement by both the Australian & NSW governments, that variant infection spread with ease across Greater Sydney. Weekly case numbers for locally acquired infections rising into their thousands and hospitalizations mounting.  

Although infection and hospitalisation numbers eventually fell, even now new community transmission case numbers still hover somewhere between one & two thousand over a 7 day period.

So where does the NSW population stand in relation to SARS-CoV-2 and its Delta and Omicron variants, now that est. 93.1% of those 16 years of age to 90 years & over are fully vaccinated and est. 77.7% of those 12 to 15 years of age are fully vaccinated and public health order restrictions are fast vanishing.

NSW Health & Northern NSW Local Health District, media release excerpts, COVID-19 data for 1 December to 11 December 2021:

# NSW recorded 271 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 1 December 2021. The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW remains at 6. There are currently 144 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 24 people in intensive care, 10 of whom require ventilation. The number of COVID-19 infected people being cared for outside a hospital setting was 2,112 cases as at 1 December - up from 2,058 on 23 November 2021.

• Two new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 1 December. These cases are located in the Grafton and Yamba areas of Clarence Valley Local Government Area, and both are under investigation.

# NSW recorded 337 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 2 December 2021. There is now a total of 9 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW. There are currently 140 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 25 people in intensive care, 10 of whom require ventilation.

• One new case of COVID-19 was reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 2 December. The case is located in the Lismore Local Government Area and is linked to an existing case. Northern NSW Local Health District can also confirm that two additional cases have been confirmed in travellers to the region visiting Byron Bay. These cases are not included in NNSWLHD’s case tally, and contact tracing is underway.

# NSW recorded 325 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 3 December 2021, including 1 death. There is now a total of 13 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW, and results on further likely cases are due later today. There are currently 139 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 25 people in intensive care, eight of whom require ventilation.

• Three new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 3 December. One case is located in Grafton, the source is under investigation. One case is located in the Ballina LGA, a household contact of a confirmed case. One case is located in Byron Bay, a household contact of a confirmed case. Northern NSW Local Health District can also confirm that one additional case has been confirmed in a traveller to the region, who has been visiting Byron Bay. This case is not reflected in NNSWLHD’s case tally as the infection was acquired elsewhere.

# NSW recorded 286 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 4 December 2021, including 1 death. There is now a total of 15 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW, and results on further likely cases are due later today. There are currently 148 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 26 people in intensive care, five of whom require ventilation.

• Three new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 4 December. One case is in Lismore and the source is under investigation. Two cases are located in Byron Bay, one of which is under investigation and the other is linked to a known case.

# NSW recorded 208 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 5 December 2021 night. There is now a total of 25 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW. There are currently 152 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 24 people in intensive care, five of whom require ventilation.

No NNSWLHD media release available for 5 December 2021.

# NSW recorded 260 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 6 December 2021, including 2 deaths. There is now a total of 31 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW. There are currently 155 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 28 people in intensive care, five of whom require ventilation.

• One new case of COVID-19 was reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 6 December. The case is located in the Kingscliff area of Tweed Local Government Area, and was acquired interstate.

# NSW recorded 403 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 7 December 2021, including 1 death. There is now a total of 34 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW. There are currently 151 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 25 people in intensive care, seven of whom require ventilation. The number of COVID-19 infected people being cared for outside a hospital setting was 2,362 cases as at 7 December - up from 2,112 on 1 December 2021.

• Eight new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 7 December. Of these cases, six are located in the Byron Local Government Area (LGA), and two are located in the Tweed LGA. All are linked to known cases, and one is a household contact of an existing case.

# NSW recorded 420 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on 8 December 2021, including 1 death. There is now a total of 42 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW. There are currently 151 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 25 people in intensive care, eight of whom require ventilation.

• 11 new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 8 December. Of these cases, eight are located in the Byron Local Government Area (LGA), one in the Ballina LGA, one in Lismore LGA, and one in Tweed LGA. Nine of the 11 cases are linked to existing cases, and two are under investigation.

# NSW recorded 516 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 9 December 2021. The total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW remains at 42. There are currently 158 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 24 people in intensive care, nine of whom require ventilation.

• 21 new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 9 December. Of the cases, 13 were in the Byron Local Government Area, 4 in the Lismore LGA, 3 in the Ballina LGA, and 1 in the Tweed LGA. 20 of the 21 cases are linked to an existing case or cluster. One of the cases in the Lismore LGA is under investigation. A further 8 cases have now been linked to the Coorabell Hall event on Saturday 4 December, making 16 in total. A further two cases are now linked to the Woody’s Surf Shack Night Club, making a total of 3.

# NSW recorded 560 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm 10 December 2021, including 3 deaths. There is a total of 45 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant in NSW. There are currently 150 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 25 people in intensive care, eight of whom require ventilation.

• 35 new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 10 December. Of the cases, 23 were in the Byron Local Government Area, 2 in the Lismore LGA, 8 in the Ballina LGA, and 2 in the Tweed LGA. 30 of the 35 cases are linked to an existing case or cluster. One case in the Ballina LGA, one case in the Tweed LGA, two cases in Byron LGA and one case in Lismore LGA remain under investigation. NNSWLHD is seeing an increase in cases in the Byron Bay region, and the majority of them are associated with venues including pubs, clubs and party settings.

# NSW recorded 485 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm, 11 December 2021, including 2 deaths. There is a total of 55 cases of COVID-19 with the Omicron variant of concern in NSW. There were 10 new cases confirmed with the Omicron variant overnight, and more are expected as results of genomic testing are confirmed. To date, one Omicron case has been admitted to hospital in NSW for treatment of COVID-19. There are currently 156 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 23 people in intensive care, seven of whom require ventilation. 

• 30 new cases of COVID-19 were reported for Northern NSW Local Health District (NNSWLHD) in the 24 hours to 8pm 11 December.

  Of the cases, 18 were in the Byron Local Government Area, 4 in the Lismore LGA, 6 in the Ballina LGA, 1 in the Tweed LGA and 1 in the Richmond Valley LGA. 21 of the 30 cases are linked to an existing case or cluster. Three cases in the Ballina LGA, one case in the Tweed LGA, three cases in Byron LGA, one case in Lismore LGA and one case in the Richmond Valley LGA remain under investigation. To date no cases in NNSWLHD have been identified as the Omicron variant.

There are 7 local government areas in the Northern NSW Local Health District. All 7 of these areas have experienced community transmission of COVID-19 infections in the three months since the SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant Outbreak first reached Northern NSW.

In the first 11 days of December 2021 the region has been experiencing new COVID-19 infections roughly equivalent to 10.45 new cases per day. 

This represents a surge in local infection numbers which had begun to grow once the NSW Perrottet Government opened regional NSW to travellers from Greater Sydney which itself remains a significant source of COVID-19 community infection, as well as to travellers from elsewhere in NSW and interstate. 

However it is impossible to calculate how many people have travelled into Northern NSW whilst infectious, as abruptly on 19 November 2021 NSW Premier Perrottet removed from public view the dataset which reliably tracked sources of confirmed COVID-19 infections by postcode, local health district and local government area.

UPDATE:

ABC News, 12  December 2021:

The Reff [infection rate] currently stands at 1.38, a jump from 1.25 just a couple of days ago — and in line with the "bell-shaped curve" expected in epidemics.

"So what we're seeing now is typically that initial rise in cases which we saw at the start of the previous wave, so it's definitely going to be a wave coming up," Professor Esterman said.

"The effective reproduction number is now as high as it's been since the 23rd of August and the doubling time for case numbers is 14 days, so every 14 days the number of cases is going to double at the current rate."

He also said a peak in cases would likely not happen until February. 

The rate of hospitalisations is the one bit of "good news" remaining stable over recent weeks with yesterday's figure of 150 slightly lower than previous days. .....

Clarence Valley Council Local Government Election 2021: and the vote slowly inches forward with 31 votes between the two contenders for 9th seat in the Chamber

Clarence Valley Local Government Area represented in blue
IMAGE: Wikipedia

Clarence Valley Local Government Area

Total Number of Electors: 38,544 residential and non-residential electors were enrolled in this area on 25 October 2021.

Clarence Valley Local Government Election 2021 - First Preference Vote Count as at 9 December 2021:

Jeff Smith – 5,775 votes 19.78% of votes

Debrah Novak – 3,451 votes 11.82% of votes

Ian Tiley – 2,553 votes 8.74% of votes

Greg Clancy – 2,410 votes 8.25% of votes

Allison Waites – 2,243 votes 7.68% of votes

Peter Johnstone – 2,203 votes 5.54% of votes

Bill Day – 2,012 votes 6.89% of votes

Karen Toms – 1,590 votes 5.44% of votes

Steve Pickering – 1,453 votes 4.98% of votes

Peter Ellem – 1,422 votes 4.87% of votes

Total Formal Votes Counted 29,202

Total Informal/Other Votes 2,003

Progressive Total Votes 31,205

Last Updated: 09/12/2021 16:32

 

North Coast Voices will not be posting again until Monday, 13 December 2021. Apologies to regular readers.

 

Clarence Valley Council Local Government Election 2021 Ballot Count as of 7 December - highest ranking 10 candidates contesting for 9 seats in the Chamber

 

Total Number of Electors: 38,544 residential and non-residential electors were enrolled in this area on 25 October 2021.

Clarence Valley Local Government Election 2021 - First Preference Vote Count as at 7 December 2021 for 10 Highest Ranking Candidates in a Field of 16 Contenders:

Jeff Smith – 4,840 votes 19.43% of votes

Debrah Novak – 2,820 votes 11.32% of votes

Ian Tiley – 2,202 votes 8.84% of votes

Greg Clancy – 2,117 votes 8.50% of votes

Peter Johnstone - 1,978 votes 7.94% of votes

Allison Waites - 1,848 votes 7.42% of votes

Bill Day - 1,804 votes 7.24% of votes

Karen Toms – 1,389 votes 5.58% of votes

Steve Pickering – 1,260 votes 5.06% of votes

Peter Ellem – 1,249 votes 5.01% of votes

Total Formal Votes Counted 24,911

Total Informal/Other Votes 1,924

Progressive Total Votes 26,835

Last Updated: 07/12/2021 14:12