There have been 552 coronavirus cases in NSW since an infected patron walked into the Crossroads Hotel last month, but 15 of them have authorities "anxious".
Key points:
- Professor Gregory Dore said there could still be an upswing in the spread of COVID-19 in NSW
- Premier Gladys Berejiklian is "worried" about unknown sources of the virus
- High testing levels have helped contain the spread in NSW
The Crossroads cluster, which has been traced back to a Victorian man who visited the venue on July 3, sparked a COVID-19 resurgence in Sydney.
Since then, the number of new infections in NSW has remained steady, but Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday said that offered little comfort.
"My anxiety remains the same if not slightly higher, because every week we've had an accumulation of undetected or unsourced cases," she said.
Those 15 mysterious infections in NSW have the Premier worried how many other people in the community could be unknowingly creating COVID-19 clusters.
Ms Berejiklian warned her state was still battling coronavirus infections six weeks after the Crossroads cluster.
"And that's from one case," she said.
"We're still worried because there could still be unknown sources in the community.
"I can't stress enough how virulent the disease is, how difficult it is to control and how much effort goes on behind the scenes.
"I know it's a joint effort with community and police, but these health detectives are 24/7 literally trying to look under every nook and cranny to stop the spread."
Epidemiologist Gregory Dore said the continued daily cases in NSW had the potential to lead to an "upswing" in the spread of the virus.
"The small number of cases per week with no known contact is reassuring, but it only takes one highly infectious person in a high-density indoor setting without adequate physical distancing or mask-wearing to lead to a major outbreak," he said.
"A short-term closure of pubs, clubs, and restaurants should still be considered to enhance prospects of reaching zero community transmission."
But Professor Dore said, for now, NSW appeared to be on a very different path to Victoria.
"The key difference in NSW has been early identification of clusters, which together with impressive NSW Health contact-tracing capacity and community support for self-isolation, has contained spread.
"From late June in Victoria, there was a continual increase in cases per day for more than a month.
"In contrast, New South Wales has maintained case numbers at around 10-20, and now even lower, from mid-July."
Professor Dore said "high testing levels" had helped contain the spread, as well as "greater physical distancing awareness" from the public.
NSW Health data shows in the six weeks up until August 8 that 60 per cent of cases without a known source were residents of South-Western Sydney, while 25 per cent were from Western Sydney.
With the exception of two children, all cases were adults ranging from 19 to 75 years of age and among them was an even distribution of men and women.
There was one mystery case in the Sydney area and one in the Nepean Blue Mountains area.
While a mystery case in the Hunter New England region was a man who may have become infected after travelling to Sydney.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said it was more important than ever for people with flu-like symptoms in Sydney's west and south-west to get tested for COVID-19.
"It is essential that anyone with symptoms, particularly in those areas, come forward for testing, to allow us to stop any further transmission," she said.
"Having low levels of grumbling transmission of this virus just poses so much risk."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiaWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA4LTE4L25zdy1hdXRob3JpdGllcy1mZWFyLXVua25vd24tc291cmNlcy1vZi1jb3JvbmF2aXJ1cy1jYXNlcy8xMjU2NjgwNNIBJ2h0dHBzOi8vYW1wLmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvYXJ0aWNsZS8xMjU2NjgwNA?oc=5
2020-08-17 19:15:00Z
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