NSW reveals Sydney student nurse worked for five days while infectious as Alice Springs enters lockdown
New South Wales health authorities have warned an unvaccinated student nurse who tested positive for Covid worked across two Sydney hospitals for up to five days, with more than 100 staff and patients identified as close contacts sent into isolation.
NSW Health on Wednesday evening also reversed its health advice for the minister for digital and customer service, Victor Dominello, who was forced back into isolation just hours after appearing at the state’s Covid press conference alongside the premier, Gladys Berejiklian.
Dominello had been one of many politicians ordered into isolation following agriculture minister Adam Marshall’s positive test last Thursday, but the health department gave him the allclear to leave isolation after he returned a negative test on Saturday, deeming him a casual contact.
However, this frustrated fellow politicians who had been deemed close contacts and made to isolate for 14 days, with the deputy premier, John Barilaro, who is still quarantining, telling the Sydney Morning Herald “it’s a lucky dip of which contact tracer you get on the phone and they ask different questions and interpret things differently”.
But late on Wednesday night, NSW Health said it had given Dominello incorrect advice, and that shortly after apologising to him for the error, he had re-entered isolation.
Earlier, the department revealed that the 24-year-old Sydney student nurse who had tested positive for Covid had worked across the rehabilitation wards at Fairfield hospital and the cardiology and general abdominal surgery ward at the Royal North Shore hospital from 24-28 June while infectious.
The woman returned a positive test on Tuesday night so was not included in the 22 locally-acquired cases detected in NSW in the 24-hour period to 8pm.
More than 100 staff and patients have been identified as close contacts to date. Contact tracing and testing of close contacts were ongoing but all had returned a negative result as of Wednesday night.
The student nurse is now in isolation and one of her household contacts has tested positive.
The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said on Wednesday morning she was unsure if the nurse was vaccinated, however, Guardian Australia has since learned the student nurse was not vaccinated.
“The wards that that staff member worked at have been locked down, so that’s not taking any additional patients,” Chant said.
“It’s much too early to tell whether we will have any transmission and we have taken a very broad infectious period because of our concern about the vulnerability of healthcare settings,” Chant said.
“NSW Health is contacting patients’ families who may have visited these wards and identified close contacts of this case to advise them of any action they need to take,” NSW Health said in a statement.
Berejiklian was also asked about the prime minister, Scott Morrison’s, announcement earlier this week that people under 40 could potentially access the AstraZeneca vaccine after her Queensland counterpart criticised the advice.
Berejiklian said NSW health services would not administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to under 40s.
“The New South Wales health system will continue to welcome people over 60 that want the AstraZeneca, will continue to welcome people who are having their second shot of AstraZeneca. Beyond that, you must go to your GP and get their advice,” the NSW premier said.
Of the 22 new locally acquired cases announced on Wednesday, 11 were in isolation throughout their entire infectious period, and five cases were in isolation for part of their infectious pe
riods.
The new cases mean there have been 171 locally-acquired cases reported in the state since 16 June with 160 linked to the Bondi cluster.
Alice Springs enters lockdown
Alice Springs has entereda “critical” 72-hour lockdown as a precautionary measure after a man who worked at a Northern Territory mine transitioned through the town’s airport before testing positive for Covid-19 in South Australia.
Alice Springs joined greater Sydney and surrounding regions, much of south-east Queensland and areas around Townsville, the Perth and Peel regions and greater Darwin in lockdown as the Delta variant of the coronavirus sweeps across the country.
The Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, said the lockdown in Alice Springs was being introduced despite no new locally-acquired cases as an “extreme precautionary measure”.
It comes after a Tanami Desert miner spent an “extended period of time” at Alice Springs airport on Friday 25 June before flying to Adelaide and testing positive alongside family members.
“It is unlikely that he was highly infectious during his time at Alice Springs airport,” Gunner said on Wednesday.
“But, like all other decisions, we will not take a punt on this. We will operate on the assumption that he was infectious while in the territory. Alice Springs area will now enter a lockdown for the next 72 hours to Saturday. The lockdown direction applies to everyone inside the Alice Springs town council boundaries – that includes town camps.”
Gunner urged locals not to panic or flood shops looking to buy groceries and essential goods. The chief minister said authorities were working to provide residents with what they needed.
“You are able to travel in and out of Alice for essentials. Do not panic. You will get your food. You will get your medicine. But if you usually live outside of Alice Springs, like in a community, but you are visiting in Alice right now, stay in Alice. Stay there, do not go home right now.”
Gunner said the lockdown was needed due to “the size of the exposure window and vulnerability of the local population”. “I will take no risk with that,” he said.
South Australia avoids lockdown
The South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, said his state would not be going into lockdown after recording five new locally-acquired cases linked to the Tanami Desert mine.
The miner who returned to Adelaide on Friday had isolated since Saturday. Although he initially tested negative, the miner, his wife and three of his four children all subsequently returned positive tests early on Wednesday.
“While this is a very concerning turn of events, having this Delta variant in South Australia, we are very relieved this person and this family have been at home since Saturday, very significantly reducing the risk to our state,” Marshall said.
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South Australia’s chief health officer, Prof Nicola Spurrier, said everyone on the flight with the miner had been ordered to get tested and to isolate until they heard back from SA Health.
She said authorities were also working to care for the infected family’s pregnant dog. “We always come across hiccups. This family has a very nice dog but it is pregnant so I have a team sorting out the dog,” Spurrier said.
The premier said masks will be mandated in public and home gatherings will be limited to 10 people.
“We do know this Delta variant is particularly worrying, we see further deterioration of the situation around the country again today. We must all remain extraordinarily vigilant,” Marshall said.
WA records new case, Queensland detects three
Western Australia recorded one new locally-acquired case – a 37-yearold male who was still being interviewed by the state’s contact tracing team.
The WA premier, Mark McGowan, said although the source of his infection was still unknown, the man had been isolating for the entirety of his infectious period.
McGowan confirmed all the miners who have returned from the Northern Territory had so far tested negative and were all in quarantine.
“These results are very pleasing. We know this mine outbreak is currently causing significant problems in other jurisdictions around Australia,” the premier said.
Queensland recorded three new locally acquired cases including the brother of a 19-year-old Brisbane hospital receptionist who had tested positive.