Covid cases identified in Armidale

TODAY New South Wales Health has announced there have been 319 new cases of Covid-19 identified in the past 24 hours, including four additional cases and two cases in the Armidale local government area and Covid-19 has been detected in sewerage in Dubbo.

Armidale will enter lock down at 5pm today for a period of seven days, but the Health Minister Brad Hazard, while the lock down does not begin until 5pm, he encourages people to stay at home now.

Stay at home orders will apply to anyone who has visited the Armidale LGA on or since Saturday, July 31. These orders are the same as were issued for people who have entered Muswellbrook, Singleton and other affected LGAs during the same timeframe. (Read: Stay at home orders explained).

“If I was living in that area (Armidale LGA) – I wouldn’t be going out of my house today – I wouldn’t be visiting friends,” said Mr Hazzard.

The two reported cases in Armidale LGA were an Armidale woman in her 20s who had travelled to Newcastle and a member of her household, a man in his 50s who contracted the virus.

Minister Hazzard said the cases found in Armidale were from Newcastle and it was possible they had breached health orders, which is still under investigation, stressing the main focus currently is identifying who they may have been in contact with while infectious. 

While there are no identified cases in Dubbo, Covid-19 has been detected in sewerage and residents are encouraged to come forward for testing.

NSW Health are also contact tracing people who were at the John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle emergency department after a covid-19 positive person presented to emergency.

Of the 312 new cases:

• 2 were international travellers;
• 125 were linked to other cases;
• 108 were household contacts
• 17 were a close known contact and
• 194 are still under investigation.

There are currently 345 people hospitalised with Covid-19:

• 56 people are in intensive care, and
• 23 are on ventilators.

Of the people in intensive care, 51 were not vaccinated at all, 4 had received their first AstraZeneca vaccine and one had received their first Pfizer vaccine.

There have been 5 deaths in the last 24 hours, bring the total to 27 deaths in this outbreak and 84 since the pandemic began. None of the people who died in the past 24 hours were vaccinated.

Minister Hazzard said, “you’ve really got to start getting serious about staying at home.”

Mr Hazzard said there was a significant burden on health care workers having to track 194 cases and all of the locations they have visited and stressed the importance of staying at home and not going from one household to another.

Related stories:

• Covid restrictions: Some questions answered – August 5, 2021.
• More lock down questions answered – August 6, 2021.
• Covid cases identified in Armidale – August 7, 2021.
• Covid update: Two new cases linked to Newcastle cluster – August 6, 2021.
• Exemptions for weddings and funerals – August 5, 2021;
• Stay at home orders – impacting some residents of Scone – August 5, 2021.
• Hunter lock down restrictions and cases explained – August 5, 2021.
• Covid update: Hunter snap lock down starts at 5pm – August 5, 2021.
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