UPDATE: Wednesday
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NOW 103 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Hunter New England Health (HNEH) district.
Another 31 cases have been confirmed in the last 24 hours.
The cases are now scattered right across the district, Public Health physician Dr David Durrheim said.
"Everyone should consider that the virus is circulating in your community," he said.
"So it's absolutely critical that we all distance ourselves, we need to stand back that 1.5m, we need to restrict the amount that we go outside only to critical activities.
"We need to make sure that if we have a cough, or a cold, or a fever that we don't go out into the community and potentially spread COVID-19.
"That is the time to be at home and be safe and not spread the virus."
Five patients are being cared for in hospital and two are in Intensive Care Units.
The news comes as Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall called on HNEH to reveal case numbers by local government area to give communities the full picture.
"Up until today [March 24], I was receiving a daily update, which I was passing onto local councils and the community, but that ceased today and will not resume," he said.
"The last update I received was last night and at that point their were no cases anywhere within the Northern Tablelands.
"By their actions, HNEH will create a larger information vacuum, inciting further anxiety, confusion and panic in our communities, at a time when there are already heightened tensions."
HNEH has stated that providing case locations is a breach of patient privacy and does not serve the public.
UPDATE: Tuesday
HUNTER New England Health has announced a surge of 25 new confirmed COVID-19 cases.
It includes an elderly couple from Inverell, who are the first positive test results for the virus in the Northern Tablelands and North West region.
Out of the cases confirmed in the last 24 hours, 20 have come from cruise ships.
The Inverell couple, aged in their 80s, were on a cruise which docked in Sydney last Thursday.
"We have seen cases scattered across Hunter New England Health, so we appear to be behind the virus," Public Health Physician Dr Dave Durrheim said.
"Now is the time that we all need to pay particular attention to social distancing.
"We need to stand back, we need to keep our colds and our coughs at home.
"We need to make sure that we are not touching other people's hands, all of Hunter New England Health needs to work together to slow the spread of this virus."
It brings the total number of patients to 72, with at least 18 of those in the 60 to 69 age group.
At least 47 of those cases came to Australia from overseas.
UPDATE: Monday
Almost 50 confirmed cases of COVID-19 are being monitored in the Hunter New England Health district, but our region still remains virus free.
In a statement sent to the media on Monday afternoon, Hunter New England Health said, as at 8pm, Sunday, an additional 17 cases of COVID-19 had been diagnosed since their previous update on Sunday.
This brings the total number of Hunter New England confirmed cases to 47.
There were four people in the Northern Tablelands and North West region who were on the Ruby Princess cruise ship, but they have been given the all clear.
Two in Glen Innes and two in Moree were tested after they had been passengers on the on cruise, which has attracted national attention, after passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney Harbour last Thursday.
Since then, there have been 48 confirmed cases of COVID-9 among the ship's passengers.
UPDATE: Sunday
An additional four cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the Hunter New England late on Saturday.
While there has been no indication that the local area has had a case yet, it brings the total number of confirmed cases in the Hunter New England region to 30.
The most common age group affected are people in their 60s, with eight cases, four males and four females.
There have been six cases among people aged in their 70s, while the next highest number is five, which is among those aged in their 20s.
There have been no cases among people aged over 80.
Sixteen of the cases were acquired overseas, and a further 10 from people who came into contact with a confirmed case. Among the other four cases, the source of the virus is not known.
UPDATE: SATURDAY
An additional eight people from Hunter New England Local Health District are now confirmed to have tested positive to COVID-19:
This takes the total number of cases of COVID-19 in Hunter New England to 26.
Health staff continue to undertake daily wellness checks with all confirmed cases in the District.
Hunter New England Health is contacting close contacts of the new cases, who are being asked to self-isolate for 14 days from last contact. They will be contacted every day to check that they are well and any contact who develops COVID-19 symptoms will be tested for the infection.
- A female in her 20s and a female in her 50s are in home isolation; both are close contacts of a previously announced case.
- A male in his 60s is in home isolation after travelling on the Ruby Princess.
- A female in her 60s is receiving care at John Hunter Hospital after being in contact with a confirmed case in Sydney.
- A male in his 20s is in home isolation; he is a close contact of a confirmed case.
- A female in her 70s is in home isolation after returning from Vietnam and Cambodia.
- A female in her late teens is in home isolation after returning from Europe.
- A female in her 70s is receiving care in Westmead hospital after travelling on the Ruby Princess.
UPDATE, FRIDAY:
On Friday afternoon, Hunter New England Health announced it was now providing care and support to five additional people confirmed to have COVID-19.
While our local region still remains free of the virus, the five new cases takes the total number of cases of COVID-19 in the health district to 18.
Among the new cases are a female in her 50s and a male in his 60s, who are in home isolation after recently returning from Italy.
A female in her 20s is in home isolation after recently returning from a Pacific cruise, while a male in his 70s is in home isolation; he is a relative of a previously reported confirmed case of COVID-19.
A female in her late teens is also in home isolation after recently returning from Canada.
Health staff continue to undertake daily wellness checks with all confirmed cases in the district.
Hunter New England Health said it was contacting close contacts of the new cases, who are being asked to self-isolate for 14 days from last contact.
They will be contacted every day to check that they are well and any contact who develops COVID-19 symptoms will be tested for the infection.
Hunter New England Local Health District has opened its fourth COVID-19 clinic, at Belmont Hospital.
It is a drive-through clinic where people are screened via phone before presenting.
The Belmont Hospital COVID-19 clinic joins those already operating at John Hunter, Maitland and Calvary Mater Newcastle hospitals.
In response to community concern about the location of COVID-19 cases, Dr Tony Merritt, Public Health Physician said:
"I understand there are concerns out in the community about the location of people confirmed to have COVID-19.
"These are challenging and confronting times, and I understand people's desire to know as much as they can to best protect themselves against this virus.
"You can rest assured that anyone diagnosed with COVID-19 and their close contacts are either being treated in hospital or are in self-isolation to ensure there is no ongoing risk of infection to others in the community.
"Locations where these people with COVID-19 live, work or have visited do not pose any ongoing risk to the public. And it's important that we respect their privacy while they recover.
"Those in self-isolation are doing a great service for our community; it's them that will make the biggest difference in slowing the spread of this virus.
"I want to assure the community that as we have done over the past weeks, and in line with national protocols, we will let the community know of any public locations where there has been a known risk of infection. This is so you can monitor symptoms and seek medical assistance if you become unwell.
"As the number of cases in our district continues to rise, I want to stress how important it is for everyone to do their bit. Wash your hands regularly, cover coughs and sneezes, maintain social distancing and stay home if you're unwell," Dr Merritt said.
THURSDAY:
Two more cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Hunter New England Health region.
A statement from the health service on Thursday afternoon, said it is now providing care and support to two additional people confirmed to have the virus.
While the health service is not providing information on what town the cases are in, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has confirmed that none of the 13 cases are in his electorate.
In the latest Hunter New England cases, confirmed today, two men are both in home isolation after returning from overseas.
A male in his 60s had recently returning from the US, and a male in his 20s arrived home from Asia.
This takes the total number of cases of COVID-19 in Hunter New England to 13.
The statement from Hunter New England Health said it was contacting close contacts of the two new cases, who were being asked to self-isolate for 14 days from last contact.
"They will be contacted every day to check that they are well and any contact who develops COVID-19 symptoms will be tested for the infection," the statement said.
Australian Community Media, publisher of this newspaper, asked Hunter New England Health on Thursday why the names of towns could not be provided, and a spokesperson explained it would be a breach of patient privacy and would have no health benefit.
WEDNESDAY:
Hunter New England Health is now providing care and support to four additional people confirmed to have COVID-19.
These include:
- A male in his 30s in home isolation after recently returning from the US
- A female in her 70s is in home isolation following assessment in hospital; she recently returned from Europe via Qatar
- A male and female in their 30s are in home isolation after attending a wedding on the South Coast where a confirmed case was present.
This takes the total number of cases of COVID-19 in Hunter New England to 11.
Hunter New England Health is contacting close contacts of the four new cases, who are being asked to self-isolate for 14 days from last contact.
They will be contacted every day to check that they are well and any contact who develops COVID-19 symptoms will be tested for the infection.
Hunter New England Local Health District has opened COVID-19 screening clinics at John Hunter and Maitland hospitals.
A clinic was also set to open at Calvary Mater Newcastle yesterday.
Health staff continue to undertake daily wellness checks with all confirmed cases in the District.
With regards to the cases previously announced in the District:
- A male in his 70s is doing well in home isolation;
- A female in her 60s is doing well in home isolation
- A male in his 20s is doing well in home isolation
- A male in his 60s is doing well in home isolation
- A female in her 60s remains in John Hunter Hospital for monitoring while her source of infection is still under investigation
- A female in her 40s is doing well in home isolation
- A female in her 60s is in home isolation after being discharged from Manning Hospital.
The District is asking everyone in Hunter New England to play a part in containing the spread of COVID-19 by washing your hands often, covering coughs and sneezes, maintain social distance and staying home if you're unwell.
Visit the NSW Health website https://www.health.nsw.gov.au for more advice.
TUESDAY:
Hunter New England Health is now providing care and support to two additional people confirmed to have COVID-19:
- A female in her 40's is in home isolation after recently returning from the US, and
- A female in her 60's is currently receiving care in Manning Hospital while the source of her infection continues to be investigated.
This takes the total number of cases of COVID-19 in Hunter New England to seven. There is no connection between these two new cases and any cases previously confirmed in the District.
The female in her 40's arrived touched down in Sydney on American Airlines flight AA0073 from Los Angeles on March 11. NSW Health is asking anyone who travelled on this flight to be alert for fever or respiratory symptoms.
If they develop any of these symptoms, they should contact their GP or present to an Emergency Department.
Health staff continue to undertake daily wellness checks with all confirmed cases in the District.
Hunter New England Health is contacting close contacts of the two new cases, who are also being asked to self-isolate for 14 days from last contact. They will be contacted every day to check that they are well and any contact who develops COVID-19 symptoms will be tested for the infection.
With regards to the cases previously announced in the District:
- A male in his 70's is doing well in home isolation;
- A female in her 60's is doing well in home isolation
- A male in his 20's is doing well in home isolation
- A male in his 60's is doing well in home isolation
- A female in her 60s remains in John Hunter Hospital for monitoring while her source of infection is still under investigation.
For the safety of our patients, staff and the general community, Hunter New England Health is taking steps to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading by changing our guidelines on visits to hospitals and inpatient facilities.
We are now limiting visitors to patients in our facilities to one visitor at a time, and only those who are main care givers or a significant other.
Visitors must not enter any hospital or facility if:
- They have a fever or a cold and flu-like illness or
- They have been overseas in the last 14 days or
- They have been in contact with anyone who has COVID-19 in the last 14 days.
The District is asking everyone in Hunter New England to play a part in containing the spread of COVID-19 by washing your hands often, covering coughs and sneezes and staying home if you're unwell. Visit the NSW Health website for more advice.