All NSW residents are being asked to get tested for even the mildest COVID-19 symptoms, with NSW Health issuing the urgent appeal after a cluster of coronavirus cases in Sydney’s Northern Beaches area ballooned to 28 confirmed infections.
Northern Beaches residents are also being asked to wear a mask from Friday until Monday.
It comes as state and territory leaders moved to impose travel restrictions a week before Christmas.
Health authorities said genomic testing had confirmed the virus entered Australia from overseas, but health authorities had so far been unable to determine how it spread to the community.
The spike in cases prompted federal Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly to declare the Northern Beaches Local Government Area a hotspot on Friday, on the basis that more infections are expected, Health Minister Greg Hunt said.
It is believed eight people were infected at a “significant seeding event” at Avalon Beach RSL on 11 December, with the first two cases detected on Wednesday. A further 16 of the confirmed cases visited Avalon Bowlo on 13 December, including two people who attended both events.
Two additional cases were announced on Thursday before the cluster grew to 17 on that night.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday told reporters some of the confirmed cases were not residents of the Northern Beaches, warning of potential seeding throughout greater Sydney.
“Everybody in greater Sydney needs to be on high alert,” she said. “I know that there are a lot of Christmas parties on at this time, a lot of social gatherings. Please consider what is essential.”
One of the cases who visited Avalon Beach RSL on 11 December had travelled to Queensland after becoming infected, she added. That person travelled interstate on a Virgin airline on 16 December, with Queensland authorities undertaking the contact tracing related to the flight.
The woman in her 50s, who has since returned to NSW, visited the Glen Hotel in Eight Mile Plains and the Sunshine Coast, Queensland Chief Medical Officer Jeannette Young said.
“I’m confident that we are broadly contact tracing and will find anyone who is potentially at risk of having current contact with that individual,” she added.
Health authorities have extended a testing appeal issued initially to residents in the Northern Beaches to the whole state.
“Anyone in the state with even the mildest symptoms such as headache, fatigue, cough, sore throat or runny nose, is asked to come forward immediately for testing, then isolate until a negative result is received,” the health alert read.
NSW Health also issued a “strong advisory” for all people in the Northern Beaches area to wear a mask at all times when in indoor areas.
NSW Health published a list of almost 30 places where confirmed cases of the virus had travelled throughout the past week, with anyone who has visited those locations during certain times asked to either self-isolate and get tested or monitor for symptoms.
Three additional pop-up testing clinics are operating at Avalon Recreation Centre, Newport Community Centre, and Warringah Aquatic Centre, with long lines on Friday morning as residents come forward for testing.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard, who is himself a Northern Beaches resident, said the surprise outbreak was an “important reminder” of the continuing dangers of the pandemic.
“There will always be the possibility of something creeping out from somewhere,” he said.
Nearly all Australian states and territories have introduced additional travel restrictions on people who have been in the Northern Beaches since 11 December, throwing Christmas travel plans into disarray.
In response to the new travel restrictions, Ms Berejiklian called for state and territory authorities to have a “proportionate response”.
“I would certainly be making provisions about people who are coming from a hotspot, from the Avalon cluster in the Northern Beaches, but I ask people to consider the fact that parts of NSW are completely unaffected,” she said.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant also provided an update to a stand-alone infection detected in a Sydney Airport worker, confirming that no further cases have been linked to the 45-year-old man since he tested positive on Wednesday.
It is believed the man contracted the virus from contact with international airline crew at work.
Meanwhile, 13 airline crew members who flew into Sydney from South America on Saturday, 5 December have been issued $1000 fines, NSW Police announced on Friday.
Police allege they left self-isolation in Mascot and attended nearby businesses.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on people to remain calm and follow the health advice of their local authorities.
“The pandemic has not gone away. It hasn’t gone away,” he said.
“So these types of uncertainties and these disruptions will continue to occur.”
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your jurisdiction’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
News and information is available in 63 languages at sbs.com.au/coronavirus. Please check the relevant guidelines for your state or territory: NSW, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, Northern Territory, ACT, Tasmania.
