Advertisement

Westfield Bondi Junction coronavirus alert amid questions over Victoria’s contact-tracing

A New South Wales resident who has been sick with the coronavirus has recently visited busy Sydney venues including a shopping mall, a trampoline park and multiple restaurants.

The person had been at Flip Out Prestons Indoor Trampoline Park on October 25, between midday and 1.50pm, and eaten at Jasmins Lebanese Restaurant in Liverpool on October 25, between 2pm and 3.30pm.

NSW Health advised anyone who had also attended the venues for at least one hour to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days.

The new case also attended:

  •  Westfield Bondi Junction on October 24, 1.30pm-4.30pm
  • Watsup Brothers kebab shop in Condell Park on October 24, 5.30pm-6pm
  • Ali Baba Charcoal Chicken in Auburn on October 26, 1pm-1.20pm
  • Carnes Hill Marketplace on October 27, 3.30pm-4.30pm.

This new case will be added to Wednesday’s tally.

NSW recorded one case of locally acquired COVID-19 and seven cases detected in returned travellers in hotel quarantine in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, White House coronavirus adviser Dr Anthony Fauci praised Melburnians for committing to wearing a face mask, unlike in the US where mask-wearing has become politicised.

“I really wish that we could transplant that kind of mentality here, because masks in the United States have almost become a political statement,” he said in a panel interview hosted by the University of Melbourne.

“If everyone had done that uniformly, I don’t think we would be in the position we’re in right now.”

It was confirmed on Wednesday that Victoria will hold an official probe into its oft-critiqued contact tracing regime.

The upper house on Wednesday agreed to a motion, put forward by the opposition, to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the system.

The inquiry will be carried out by the Legal and Social Issues Committee and hand down an initial report to the Legislative Council by November 30, with a final report due by December 14.

Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier argued contract tracing failures were responsible for widespread community transmission during the second wave.

Committee chair and Reason Party leader Fiona Patten told AAP the state needed to be “at the top of its game” to give the public and businesses confidence “that as we open up, we will stay open”.

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says the state now has the best contact tracing system in the country, noting it had been forged in the second wave.

“We’ve had to step up with really significant requirements,” Dr Sutton told reporters.

“I think this set-up we’ve got now could do things at scale if required.”

Victoria recorded two new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, both close contacts of people who had already been diagnosed with COVID-19.

They are linked to a cluster in Melbourne’s northern suburbs, which now totals 41 people across 12 households.

The state’s virus toll stood at 819 and the national figure was 907.

-with AAP

Stay informed, daily
A FREE subscription to The New Daily arrives every morning and evening.
The New Daily is a trusted source of national news and information and is provided free for all Australians. Read our editorial charter
Copyright © 2024 The New Daily.
All rights reserved.