Health authorities urge symptomatic staff to stay home
Two construction sites in Sydney’s west have been flagged as exposure locations after a worker tested positive for COVID-19.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged essential workers in Sydney to stay home if they experience even the mildest of symptoms to prevent the spread of the highly infectious Delta strain. She also implored business leaders to support their workers and communicate the importance of staying home if they become symptomatic.
Health authorities have put out alerts for the two construction sites in Auburn and Toongabbie. Close contacts who worked during the same time periods as the infected worker have been told to get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result. All other workers and their household contacts have been deemed casual contacts. They must get tested immediately and isolate until receiving a negative result.
Announcing those exposure sites this morning, Dr Kerry Chant said: “We are doing this because what we are trying to do is get ahead of the spread, because some of these exposures date back to Monday, 28 June, there's sufficient time for someone to become infectious and then passed on to the household.”
The state recorded 35 new community cases, but Premier Gladys Berejiklian said importantly, 24 of those cases were in isolation for their full infectious period. The cases are linked to the party in West Hoxton, a Virgin flight from the Gold Coast to Sydney, and an aged care facility in Western Sydney. The majority of cases are household contacts linked to a known cluster, with only a few still under investigation.
More than 58,000 tests were carried out in Sydney yesterday which marks a record for a Sunday. The Bondi cluster, which originated from a limo driver transporting international flight crew, has now grown to 312 cases. Sydney's two-week lockdown is due to end on Friday but the decision currently hangs in the balance.
Asked about the likelihood of lockdown being extended, Chant said: "I'm making no comment until I've looked at all the data. Every day brings a new set of data and a new set of challenges and what we think in the morning can change in the afternoon. I'm really pleased to see that we've had some people come forward for testing over the weekend, which has allowed us to link unlinked cases and the more certainty we have that we have tracked down every single case of transmission, that really does provide us with a lot more confidence in advising Government."
