Almost half of NSW's locally acquired COVID-19 cases are waiting for more than three days to self-isolate and get tested after first noticing symptoms, dramatically raising the risk that infectious people are endangering those around them.
The finding prompted fresh warnings from Premier Gladys Berejiklian that the virus was spreading undetected in Sydney's suburbs as the state braces for days of double-digit increases in daily case numbers.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian listens as Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant provides an update on COVID-19 on Friday.Credit:Wolter Peeters
NSW recorded 13 new coronavirus cases from 30,282 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Thursday. The new cases included six people linked to the swelling Sydney CBD cluster, four mystery locally acquired cases, two close contacts of previously reported cases not linked to clusters, and one person in hotel quarantine.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant expects NSW's daily COVID numbers to be in the double-digits for several days to come.
Ms Berejiklian said the government's "aspiration" was zero community transmission, but "it’s just not going to happen, given the size of our population".
She said the goal was "finding a comfortable normal which will take us through the rest of the pandemic".
"I feel we are at a place now where we can conceive a balance of people getting about their lives, going to work, increasing economic activity and yet controlling the spread of the virus, but it does require effort every single day," Ms Berejiklian said.
"It is a daily battle ... we have to be vigilant."
As the weather warms up, with temperatures forecast to reach 25 degrees on Sunday, Ms Berejiklian urged the public to adhere to social distancing rules as they enjoyed the sun at parks and beaches.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said police would be enforcing public health orders to ensure people remained safe.
Lifeguards will patrol beaches to ensure people are following social distancing rules. Credit:Wolter Peeters
More police will be patrolling the coastline in areas where they know people like to congregate, and lifeguards, council rangers and national parks personnel will also help enforce rules.
The Sydney CBD cluster grew to 14 on Friday, as NSW Health issued updated advice for visitors to the cluster's epicentre - the City Tattersalls Club.
Anyone who visited the club on Monday, August 24, from 8am to 2pm, are deemed to be close contacts and must get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days even if they return a negative result.
Contact tracers do not know how the virus entered the club, but believe it spread within the venue's gym.
"It highlights how quickly COVID can spread … we had a seeding event — its amplification in the setting of a gym — and that has seeded a number of other workplaces and led to people's exposure in the community [at] a number of venues we have announced," Dr Chant said, urging the public to go to the NSW Health website and check the list of venues issued health alerts.
The latest NSW Health surveillance report found almost half of the locally acquired cases detected last week waited more than three days to get tested after the onset of symptoms.
Three COVID-positive people (75 per cent) with no known links to confirmed cases or clusters did not get tested or self-isolate until at least four days after their symptom onset.
Among cases with links to previous cases or clusters, six out of 14 (43 per cent) waited more than three days for their swab and five people didn't self-isolate for more than three days after symptom onset.
Just half of these COVID-positive people with known links to other cases got tested within two days of symptom onset, and only one of the cases with no known links got tested within three days.
Ms Berejiklian said too many people believed mild symptoms were "nothing to worry about".
"You have to assume it’s COVID," she said.
"We don't want to see the virus spread, we don't want you to infect your loved ones because often that's what happens. They might wait a few days to get tested because they don't think it's urgent but meanwhile they may have unintentionally infected the rest of their household, their work colleagues and anyone they have gone out to dinner with," she said.
"One person in a fortnight or a couple of days can really infect so many others."
She urged anyone in western and south-western Sydney, in particular, to come forward if they had any symptoms.
"We know that is where there is undetected community transmission. We know that is where we have to concentrate our efforts," she said.
One of today’s new cases attended Anytime Fitness gym in Marrickville on Monday, August 24, between 7pm and 8pm.
Anyone at the gym at this time is considered a close contact and is required to get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days until September 8, NSW Health said.
Meanwhile, all staff and students at Ryde Secondary College have been asked to self-isolate and learn from home after a staff member tested positive.
St Gertrude's Primary School at Smithfield, near Fairfield, also closed on Friday.
A year 2 class will begin remote learning next week, and several teachers were told to self-isolate. Other grades are expected to resume on-site learning on Monday, a spokesperson for St Gertrude's said in a statement.
In the north-west, Riverstone High School and Wyndham College, at Quakers Hill, reopened on Friday after being closed due to cases in students this week.
Two students at Riverstone High and one at Wyndham College tested positive for COVID-19, prompting both schools – as well as nearby Schofields Public – to close on Wednesday.
Students at Wyndham College were due to complete their HSC trial examinations. The exams scheduled from Wednesday to Friday have been rescheduled for August 31 and September 1.
A case was also diagnosed in a resident who had spent some time in border communities, which brought two NSW residents in close contact. They are being monitored and will remain in isolation for 14 days.
People who attended the following venues are considered casual contacts and are advised to monitor for symptoms, and immediately isolate and get tested if they occur:
- The Matterhorn, Turramurra, on Saturday, August 22, 6pm to 8pm (close contacts have been contacted).
- Parish of Holy Name, Wahroonga, Sunday, August 23, 9.30am to 11.50am.
- LiquorLand, Marrickville, Sunday, August 23, 5.15pm to 5.30pm.
- Eat Pho, Marrickville, Sunday, August 23, 5.20 to 5.40pm.
- The Metro Petroleum, Hurlstone Park, Monday, August 24, 10.20am to 10.30am.
NSW Health is treating 69 COVID-19 cases, including six in intensive care, four of whom are ventilated. Of the cases, 83 per cent are in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.
Kate Aubusson is Health Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-08-28 03:09:00Z
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