The NSW South Coast is on high alert after a person from Melbourne who was later diagnosed with COVID-19 visited the area late last month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Extra coronavirus testing clinics have been set up after Victorian health officials notified NSW Health the person visited Jervis Bay, Goulburn, Hyams Beach and Vincentia on May 23 and 24.
The person had some symptoms on May 25, after driving back to Melbourne on May 24, and tested positive on Monday, May 31 - almost a week later.
Victoria is at the tail end of a "circuit breaker" lockdown to contain an outbreak of the Indian variant of the virus in Melbourne and some regions. Some 54 active infections were reported on Tuesday.
South Coast MP Shelley Hancock says the highly contagious nature of the variant is "super alarming" and is urging locals to "please get tested and then isolate at home" and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
"We're not used to being on high alert on the South Coast," she told Sydney radio 2GB on Wednesday.
She's concerned about the impact of an outbreak on the area's elderly population.
"Sometimes complacency sets in - well, here's the wake-up call," she said.
NSW Health has now issued a list of venues of concern around Jervis Bay and is urging anyone who visited them at the times listed on the department's website to get in contact, to get tested and to isolate until they receive further instructions.
The venues include the Green Patch campground and Booderee National Park at Jervis Bay, the Cooked Goose Cafe at Hyams Beach, Coles Vincentia Shopping Village and Trapper's Bakery and Shell Coles Express Big Merino at Goulburn.
Anyone who lives in Jervis Bay or has visited Jervis Bay since May 22 is asked to get tested and to isolate if they have even the mildest of cold-like symptoms.
Meanwhile, it's believed the NSW cabinet will consider a plan on Wednesday to fly in 250 international students on chartered flights who will undergo quarantine at special student facilities.
The Daily Telegraph reports that under the proposal, universities would pay for the flights and four quarantine sites have been identified for the students.
Australian Associated Press
Julian O'Brien
Editor of the Illawarra Mercury and former editor of The Advocate (North-West Tasmania). Journalism is simply about telling good stories well and we do so now across a broader platform than ever before. Our role as a regional masthead is to not only share the stories our readers care about but to be a passionate torch bearers for community at every opportunity. We are stronger together.
Editor of the Illawarra Mercury and former editor of The Advocate (North-West Tasmania). Journalism is simply about telling good stories well and we do so now across a broader platform than ever before. Our role as a regional masthead is to not only share the stories our readers care about but to be a passionate torch bearers for community at every opportunity. We are stronger together.
