Anyone who attended a GP clinic in south-west Sydney has been directed to self-isolate and get tested as NSW Health work to track down all close contacts of two doctors who tested positive for COVID-19.
NSW reported 13 new cases on Tuesday. Six were in returned travellers in hotel quarantine and seven were locally acquired, including the two doctors.
Nurses at a drive-through testing clinic in Castle Hill. NSW recorded seven cases of local transmission on Tuesday.Credit:Brook Mitchell
The doctors had worked at A2Z Medical Centre in Lakemba and anyone who attended that clinic between September 29 and October 10 was considered a close contact.
The GP cases, which were announced on Monday afternoon, were connected to a previously reported case in a patient who had also attended Lakemba Radiology.
While NSW Health has not revealed how many staff or patients were now in isolation due to those cases, Deputy Chief Health Officer Jeremy McAnulty said at this point those cases had no known link to other clusters.
However, contact tracers have been able to link other cases.
The remaining five cases were in members of the same south-western Sydney household. Those cases were uncovered through investigations into a cluster of four previously reported cases that included a nurse from St Vincent's Hospital, Dr McAnulty said.
"We can advise the five new cases provide a link between the previously four unlinked cases that included a nurse from St Vincent’s Hospital, and a previously reported cluster of five people in south-western Sydney linked with Liverpool Hospital," he said.
"This means 14 people reported between 8th of October and today are now linked."
One of the cases reported on Tuesday was a disability support worker who worked with seven clients at three group homes in south-western Sydney, and contact tracing was ongoing, Dr McAnulty said.
Another new case went to the Great Beginnings Oran Park childcare centre on October 1, 2, 8 and 9 while infectious. The centre has been closed and contact tracing has begun.
Testing numbers remain low, with 8609 tests to 8pm on Monday, up from 7391 the day before.
"Testing numbers have dropped recently, which is a concern as it limits our ability to find people with COVID-19 early and contain further spread," a NSW Health spokeswoman said.
NSW Health particularly wants people in south and south-western Sydney to come forward for testing, and a new pop-up clinic has been opened at the Lakemba Uniting Church.
"Please come forward for testing right away if you have even the mildest of symptoms like a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, fever or other symptoms that could be COVID-19," the spokeswoman said.
Rachel Clun is a journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-10-13 00:41:00Z
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