‘Numbers are encouraging’: NSW reports 16 new local coronavirus cases that include three aged care residents
Three aged care residents at a northwest Sydney facility have caught COVID-19 from an infected staff member and are among the 16 new local cases across NSW.
All three residents were fully vaccinated against the virus, and the facility’s operator says all are currently asymptomatic and in good spirits.
SummitCare Baulkham Hills said on Sunday that the residents – a man in his 90s, a man in his 80s, and a woman in her 80s – were transferred to Westmead Hospital as a precautionary measure but are doing so well.
“The fact that the affected residents are showing no symptoms at this stage shows their early vaccinations have worked,” a SummitCare spokesman said.
All other tests on workers and staff at the Baulkham Hills facility have returned negative, and the site is an incomplete lockdown. Deep cleaning is taking place.
Almost all of SummitCare Baulkham Hills’ 149 residents are fully vaccinated.
NSW recorded 16 local COVID-19 cases 24 hours to 8 pm on Saturday from 45,000 tests, with just three points out in the community during their infectious period. 277 local COVID-19 cases have been reported since June 16, the start of the current outbreak.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the dip in case numbers was a good sign, and the decreasing number of community members was infectious.
She reiterated all people in Greater Sydney and surrounds must adhere to lockdown provisions, which will remain in place until at least Friday.
“We are seeing numbers going the right way, but I do say cautiously that number can still bounce around,” Ms. Berejiklian told reporters.
“While the numbers overnight are very encouraging compared to the previous day, we know they still have the potential to bounce around. And we still know that the next few days are critical.”
Ms. Berejiklian on Saturday had said it was “too soon” to tell whether the lockdown of Greater Sydney would be extended beyond July 9.
Authorities listed a string of new exposure sites across Sydney over the weekend.
The latest cases show the outbreak’s epicenter has shifted from the city’s east to the western and southwestern suburbs.
Anyone in the center of Auburn in Sydney’s west since June 27 is being told to get tested, even if they don’t have symptoms.
New close-contact exposure sites were late on Saturday announced at Hop Hung Asian Grocery in Lakemba on June 30 and Strathfield Plaza Medical Practice on July 1.
On Sunday, NSW Health said anyone who attended the Commonwealth Bank at Roselands Shopping Centre on June 28 is also a virus in close contact.
Meanwhile, NSW has lifted stay-at-home orders for travelers from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, and Queensland as restrictions in those states and territories have eased.
On Sunday, NSW Labor health spokesman Ryan Park said the government should incentivize COVID-19 vaccination by offering additional “Dine and Discover” hospitality vouchers to those who get the job.
