NSW recorded 23 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, and an additional seven cases in returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
From 5pm today, public health orders will enforce the stay at home advisory previously issued. This will require the closing of hospitality venues and function centres in the Northern Beaches LGA, until 11.59pm on Wednesday (subject to health advice), with the exception of takeaways. Gyms and places of worship will also close.
All residents of the Northern Beaches LGA will be required to stay at home, unless permitted to leave for certain reasons, such as essential shopping, exercise and medical care. The full list of circumstances will be listed in the published order.
People are not permitted to enter the Northern Beaches LGA unless these reasons apply.
NSW Health can advise there are now 38 cases associated with the Avalon cluster, as of 8pm last night.
NSW Health is calling on several hundred people who attended Avalon gym Anytime Fitness to take urgent action, get tested and isolate immediately until further advice is provided by NSW Health. A known case of COVID-19 attended Anytime Fitness on Avalon Parade in Avalon over several days while infectious. A number of people who attended this gym will be identified as close contacts and will be required to isolate for 14 days.
The total number of cases in NSW is 4,523 since the beginning of the pandemic.
Of the new cases to 8pm last night:
Of the 38 cases in the Avalon cluster, 15 cases are linked to the Avalon RSL, 23 cases are linked to the Avalon Bowling Club, and several cases attended both venues.
The remaining two new locally acquired cases reported in today’s numbers are of Northern Beaches residents whose infection source and potential links to other cases remain under investigation.
NSW Health announced yesterday a NSW resident whose COVID-19 infection was diagnosed in Queensland was excluded from the NSW count. Following conversations with Queensland, this case will be counted as a NSW case, and is now included in today’s numbers.
Further venues of concern have been identified in relation to these cases. Anyone who travelled on the following bus routes is considered a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result:
Anyone who attended the following venue at the below times, is considered a casual contact and should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result:
A known case of COVID-19 attended Anytime Fitness on Avalon Parade in Avalon over several days while infectious. A number of people who attended this gym will be identified as close contacts and will be required to isolate for 14 days.
These days were:
NSW Health has updated advice for people who have visited the following shopping malls. People are considered casual contacts, and should monitor for symptoms, and isolate and get tested if symptoms develop:
Anyone in the Northern Beaches LGA has been asked to wear a mask when indoors until at least Monday, except in your own home.
To assist with contact tracing and reducing the spread of the virus, Northern Beaches residents have been asked to stay home as much as possible over the weekend.
This includes working from home where possible, not visiting friends or family in aged care facilities or hospitals unless essential, avoiding unnecessary gatherings and high-risk venues such as clubs, restaurants, places or worships and gyms, and avoiding unnecessary travel outside of or to the Northern Beaches area.
Businesses are urged to ensure full compliance with their COVID-Safe plans, including ensuring appropriate electronic recording of patrons’ contact details.
Many Northern Beaches locations have been added to the list of venues of concern visited by confirmed cases in recent days. The complete list of these venues are available on the NSW Government website www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19
NSW Health has already seen an excellent response from the Northern Beaches community for testing, but it is absolutely vital everyone comes forward for testing isolates immediately if they have even the slightest of symptoms, such as headache, fatigue, fever, sore throat or runny nose.
To increase testing options for the Northern Beaches community, new pop-up clinics have been opened this week, there are more than 300 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week. To find your nearest clinic visit https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/how-to-protect-yourself-and-others/clinics or contact your GP.
To help stop the spread of COVID-19:
NSW Health is treating 69 COVID-19 cases, none of whom are in intensive care. Most cases (96 per cent) are being treated in non-acute, out-of-hospital care, including returned travellers in the Special Health Accommodation.
Note: Case counts reported for a particular day may vary over time due to ongoing investigations and case review. *notified from 8pm 17 December 2020 to 8pm 18 December 2020 **from 8pm 12 December 2020 to 8pm 18 December 2020
Video update - 19 December 2020
