Worker at Sydney Police Complex Has Virus

Worker at Sydney Police Complex Has Virus
Registered Nurse holds a COVID-19 swab test in a file photo. (Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images)
AAP
By AAP
8/29/2020
Updated:
8/29/2020

A COVID-19 cluster in Sydney’s CBD has grown to 28 as authorities investigate how a staff member at the Surry Hills Police Cells Complex caught the virus.

New South Wales (NSW) recorded seven new cases overnight on Sunday with five infections linked to the fitness hotspot including a close contact of a prior diagnosed member.

One new case is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine while a student at a western Sydney high school has also tested positive.

St Paul’s Catholic College in Greystanes will be closed on Monday for cleaning, NSW Health said on Sunday.

People who attended the City Tattersalls gym in the Sydney CBD between 8am and 2pm on August 19, 21, 23, 24, and 25 are now considered close contacts and must isolate themselves and get tested immediately.

People who exercised at Virgin Active gyms on Pitt and Margaret Streets between 5pm and 6.40pm on August 25 and 26 are also urged to remain alert.

Authorities are also investigating the source of an infection acquired by a staff member at the Surry Hills Police Cells Complex.

An alert issued by NSW Health said the Health and Forensic Mental Health Network is taking appropriate health and safety measures.

As a precaution, NSW Health has advised people living or working in the Greater Sydney metropolitan area and Central Coast to refrain from visiting aged care facilities until September 12.

The preventative measure to keep the virus from infiltrating nursing homes and affecting the vulnerable elderly residents will mean many will be denied a visit on Father’s Day.

Meanwhile, three Sydney schools that closed on Friday after staff members contracted the virus will re-open on Monday.

They include Homebush Public School, Double Bay Public School and Ryde Secondary College.

There are 66 active COVID-19 cases in the state, including six who are in intensive care, of whom three are on ventilators.

AAP