NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has urged young people with very mild respiratory symptoms to be tested for coronavirus, while flagging an "imminent" easing of restrictions in the beauty therapy industry.
Three new coronavirus cases were recorded in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday, bringing the state's all-time total to 3086. NSW Health’s Acting Public Health Controller, Christine Selvey, said all three people had arrived from overseas and did not pose any risk to the community because they were in hotel quarantine.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard.Credit:Rhett Wyman
In NSW 50 people have died, there are 383 active cases and 2653 have recovered. A Victorian man in his 60s died in hospital with COVID-19, bringing the national death toll to 102.
Mr Hazzard said two out of five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in NSW were people aged in their 20s and 30s and this could be a source of community transmission as pubs, clubs, bars and restaurants reopen.
"Young people, whilst they are enjoying these new freedoms as we move forward, need to realise that with the freedoms come big responsibilities," Mr Hazzard said.
"If you’re going to keep your family, your friends, your community, your grandparents safe, you need to be really, really careful."
Young people were "not invincible" themselves but if they did get a mild form of the virus, they could unwittingly infect someone more vulnerable.
Mr Hazzard urged everyone not to slack off but to stick to the 1.5-metre physical distancing, maintain regular handwashing, and get tested.
There were 8995 people tested for the virus on Friday, up from 8611 the previous day.
"We need everybody in the community to understand that just one little symptom of anything that looks like a cough, a cold or flu, go and get tested," Mr Hazzard said. "It’s free, it costs you nothing, but it could save your life and somebody else's."
Dr Selvey said testing was crucial to stopping the spread because when health authorities detected cases, they could carry out contact tracing and prevent onward transmission.
Mr Hazzard said 411,618 people have been swabbed for the virus in NSW since testing began. Of those, 408,532 returned negative results.
Mr Hazzard said the Premier was "being lobbied by half the population" about reopening beauty therapy and was working through the details. He expected an announcement soon.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Joe Cassar said there were no penalty infringement notices or charges for breaching the public health order since Friday but police were active in ensuring the operators of cafes, restaurants, clubs and pubs complied with the law.
Anwar Hassan, senior cardiorespiratory and ICU physiotherapist, spoke at the NSW Health press conference about the success of a $34 million program to build a specialised workforce of physiotherapists and other allied health professionals providing vital ICU care.
The NSW training program announced in March has upskilled more than 300 physiotherapists and Mr Hassan said hospitals had relied on the extra help to get them through the crisis.
Mr Hassan said physiotherapy was vital for COVID-19 patients, both to help them breathe and clear their chests and to minimise muscle loss during an average stay in intensive care of three to four weeks.
"COVID-19 is a very aggressive form of chest infection, patients go downhill quite rapidly, there’s a severe lack of oxygen, it’s different and more severe, quite intense," he said. "It's very scary for the patients who come to ICU.
Caitlin Fitzsimmons is a senior writer for The Sun-Herald, focusing on social affairs.
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2020-05-23 07:38:11Z
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