NSW recorded 14 new cases on Sunday as Victoria suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic with 10 deaths, including a man in his 40s, and 459 new cases – but senior Berejiklian government ministers are optimistic that NSW will be able to curb community transmission of the disease.
NSW Health revealed on Sunday that Georges River Grammer School in Georges Hall would close after a student tested positive for coronavirus.
Restaurant Thai Rock has been linked to 67 cases and NSW Health has issued a directive for anyone that visited the restaurant for more than two hours between July 15 and July 15 to self isolate for 14 days and be immediately tested.
“But investigations to date have not identified links between cases at the two sites,” a statement from NSW Health said.
Other restaurants were also impacted, including An Restaurant Bankstown on July 23 from 9-11 am and Tan Viet Noodle House (AKA Crispy Chicken Noodle House) Cabramatta on July 22 from 1-2 pm.
Anyone who has visited these restaurants at these times should be monitored for symptoms and immediately isolate and be tested if symptoms appear.
But one NSW senior minister told the Herald the case numbers were still low and showed contact tracing was “incredibly effective” and the virus was not “getting away from us at the moment”.
The minister remained anonymous as there is concern from some within cabinet that mixed messages have been aired which were creating “unnecessary panic”.
“We have little if any community transmission, we know where these cases are from, so while everyone is still nervous, I would say I am quietly optimistic about NSW,” one minister said.
Another minister spoke anonymously and said that focusing on numbers isn’t as important as knowing the source of the virus.
“There is no magic number, there never has been. It’s about being able to trace where the source came from,” the senior minister said.
NSW Health says it’s treating 99 people, with two in intensive care. One patient is ventilated, while another one is on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).
National Deputy Chief Medical Officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said the numbers in Victoria were “not doubling on a week by week basis”.
“We have reached [a] steady state for the moment. This reflects the effect of the initial restrictions. We are only two weeks from the stage three restrictions being brought in. Whilst we are deeply concerned, we are watching the numbers with interest,” Dr Coatsworth said.
