NSW has recorded more locally acquired coronavirus infections than cases in hotel quarantine for the second day in a row in a clear sign the state has entered a precarious new phase of contagion.
Ten new cases detected in the last 24-hour reporting period were community transmissions, as opposed to just four cases imported from overseas among returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
COVID-19 testing at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, where a coronavirus cluster has emerged.Credit:James Brickwood
The Crossroads Hotel cluster has ballooned to 13 cases, after NSW Health confirmed eight new transmissions were linked to the establishment in the south-western Sydney suburb of Casula popular with interstate truck drivers and locals.
They include a teenage staff member who worked for several days in July, and four people who had dinner at the hotel on July 3: a woman and a man in their 40s from south-west Sydney, a Victorian man in his 20s and a Sydney man in his 20s.
All but the Sydney man were reported in the media on Sunday.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said none of these cases appear likely to have been the source of infection at the hotel, which remains closed.
"We do have some linkages to Melbourne but we need some further diagnostic tests," Dr Chant told 2GB's Ben Fordham on Monday morning.
The Picton Hotel and Planet Fitness Casula have been closed for cleaning after cases linked to the Crossroads cluster visited their facilities while potentially infectious.
Two new cases were NSW residents who most likely acquired the infection in Victoria and have been self-isolating since returning to NSW.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd has said the Crossroads outbreak was of particular concern because the hotel, located at the corner of the Hume Highway and Camden Valley Way, was a popular stop for interstate drivers headed through Sydney.
"This hotel is used by freight drivers who are transporting essential supplies across the country," Professor Kidd told the ABC on Monday morning.
"So this is a really important issue for everyone across the country."
Queensland Health believes the Crossroads Hotel cluster may have spread across its border, issuing an urgent alert that any Queenslanders who visited the hotel from July 3 to July 10 inclusive should isolate and get tested immediately.
Victoria’s health department is also reporting that two Victorian COVID cases attended several venues in NSW.
On July 5, the two had lunch at the Cook at Kurnell restaurant and dinner at Highfield in Caringbah.
On July 6, they had dinner at Merimbula RSL and, on July 7, breakfast at the Waterfront Cafe, Merimbula.
The pair were also at Murray Downs Golf Club July 4 and 5.
NSW Health is urging anyone who attended these venues at these times to watch for respiratory symptoms or fever, and if they occur, to isolate and get tested for COVID-19 right away.
A total of 10,786 tests were carried out in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday.
There are 85 COVID-19 cases being treated by NSW Health, with one person in intensive care.
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Kate Aubusson is Health Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Mary Ward is a reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-07-13 01:41:00Z
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