Woolworths worker who had just left Melbourne quarantine tests positive to COVID-19 in Sydney as 50 staff are sent into isolation - raising fears Victorian outbreak is spreading across Australia
- Woolworths employee at a Sydney supermarket has tested positive to COVID-19
- He had recently returned from Melbourne - the epicentre of Australia's outbreak
- NSW's chief medical officer said the man had tested positive in hotel quarantine
- But he was still allowed to fly home after not exhibiting symptoms for 72 hours
A Woolworths supermarket in Sydney has been locked down after an employee who recently returned from Melbourne tested positive for COVID-19.
At least 50 workers at the supermarket in Balmain, in Sydney's inner-west, have been ordered into self isolation after the self-serve checkout worker tested positive.
The store underwent a deep clean on Wednesday night.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said the man had tested positive on day four of his stay in hotel quarantine in Victoria, but on day 14 he was cleared of the virus and allowed to fly north.
However, when he returned to work, his supervisor noticed symptoms and told him to get tested immediately.
The positive test will only further concerns about how Victoria is handling the hotel quarantine program, after allegations of security staff falling asleep on the job and even having sex with those in the hotels, who are all returned overseas travellers.
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More than 50 workers at the Balmain Woolworths (pictured) have been ordered to quarantine after an employee at the store tested positive
A large team of police officers, nurses and airport staff began greeting new arrivals to Sydney from Thursday, on the hunt for visitors from Melbourne's hotspot suburbs
'If you are symptom free 72 hours and it's been at least 10 days since your onset of your symptoms than you are deemed non-infectious,' Dr Chant said.
'The reports from Woolworths was there wasn't really any overcrowding… even though it's quite a compact store.'
Dr Chant said the man worked in the self-serve checkout section of the store but was considered to be a 'low-level' of infectious.
The man had worn a mask on his flight from Melbourne to Sydney, but there are still concerns he could have infected those sitting near him.
Anyone onboard that plane will be contacted by NSW Health.
NSW Health began testing passengers arriving into the state from Victoria from 12am on Thursday.
While the border remains open, anyone who lives or has visited 36 suburbs identified by the Victorian government as COVID-19 hotspots is banned from entering NSW.
They face fines of up to $11,000 or even six months jail if caught.
Five people were caught at Sydney Airport arriving from those hotspots, while one woman who was awaiting COVID-19 testing arrived from Melbourne via train.
Five people were caught at Sydney Airport arriving from those hotspots, while one woman who was awaiting COVID-19 testing arrived from Melbourne via train
Passengers arriving in Sydney from Melbourne told Daily Mail Australia of their shock at the lack of questions being asked before departure.
They said the first they had been quizzed about visiting a hotspot was in Sydney, by which point they could have potentially infected a plane load of people.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said anyone who had shopped at Woolworths in Balmain in recent days should stay on the 'alert' for symptoms.
'His employer, a manager in the store, asked him to have another test because he obviously had some sort of symptoms and that test has come back positive,' he said.
'We've got to work on the basis that it's positive, although sometimes these come back to be false positives, but right now we have to work on the basis that it's a positive.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMifGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODQ4MTk3Ny9Xb29sd29ydGhzLUJhbG1haW4tZW1wbG95ZWUtcmV0dXJuZWQtTWVsYm91cm5lLXRlc3RzLXBvc2l0aXZlLUNPVklELTE5Lmh0bWzSAYABaHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHltYWlsLmNvLnVrL25ld3MvYXJ0aWNsZS04NDgxOTc3L2FtcC9Xb29sd29ydGhzLUJhbG1haW4tZW1wbG95ZWUtcmV0dXJuZWQtTWVsYm91cm5lLXRlc3RzLXBvc2l0aXZlLUNPVklELTE5Lmh0bWw?oc=5
2020-07-02 05:02:51Z
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