Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Seat0B]

NSW records 14 new cases as community transmission in school clusters continue to grow

NSW has recorded 14 new coronavirus cases from less than 20,000 tests, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said today, as the number of cases linked to Sydney schools spikes.

Five of the new cases were linked to Tangara School for Girls at Cherrybrook in Sydney's north-west, including four students and a household contact.

Coronavirus updates LIVE: 19 die, 322 infected on Victoria's deadliest day; NSW schools close after positive cases

Victoria has 322 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 19 more people have succumbed to the illness. Meanwhile, the PM said he hoped COVID restrictions, including border closures, would be resolved by Christmas, but now doubts they will.

www.theage.com.au

This plus the St PiusX cluster in Newcastle puts a lot of doubt on the earlier advice to teachers that COVID was highly unlikely to spread in school settings between students or from students to teachers. I think we should all be applauding the work of teachers who are clearly on the front line every day.

 

[jakeseven7]

This plus the St PiusX cluster in Newcastle puts a lot of doubt on the earlier advice to teachers that COVID was highly unlikely to spread in school settings between students or from students to teachers. I think we should all be applauding the work of teachers who are clearly on the front line every day.

Cough, Israel, Cough

 

[Lynda2475]

puts a lot of doubt on the earlier advice to teachers that COVID was highly unlikely to spread in school settings between students or from students to teachers

The early assumptions probably hold truer for primary aged students who unlikely venture too far from home. But once you talking 16-18 year olds in senior high-school, well they basically in the same boat at the 19-29 year olds who have the highest case numbers, They are very social, out without supervision and likely to lie about where they have been if they have broken guidelines as they feel they are invincible. It is more likely they have caught Covid-19 at home, whilst socialising or in their part time jobs, less so in the classroom.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

NSW records 14 new cases as community transmission in school clusters continue to grow

NSW has recorded 14 new coronavirus cases from less than 20,000 tests, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said today, as the number of cases linked to Sydney schools spikes.

Five of the new cases were linked to Tangara School for Girls at Cherrybrook in Sydney's north-west, including four students and a household contact.

Coronavirus updates LIVE: 19 die, 322 infected on Victoria's deadliest day; NSW schools close after positive cases

Victoria has 322 more confirmed coronavirus cases and 19 more people have succumbed to the illness. Meanwhile, the PM said he hoped COVID restrictions, including border closures, would be resolved by Christmas, but now doubts they will.

www.theage.com.au

Breakdown of NSW 14 new cases

The state's chief medical officer Kerry Chant said of the 14 new cases diagnosed, one was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, one was an interstate case from Victoria and one was locally acquired with no links to other cases at this stage.

A further 11 were locally acquired and linked to known cases.

The total number of cases in NSW is now 3,686.

Of the newly acquired cases reported in the 24 hours until 8:00pm last night, five were linked to the Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook, in Sydney's north west.

A further two cases connected to the school were reported this morning, bringing the total number of cases linked to the school to 11.

Dr Chant said the original source of the cluster was still being investigated.

A student at Bonyrigg Heights Public School attended while infectious on August 4 to August 6, inclusive and the school is now closed for cleaning.

Kids Early Learning at Quakers Hills is also closed today and contact tracing underway after a staff member worked while infectious on August 3.

Our Lady of Mercy College in Parramatta is closed and contract tracing is underway after a student tested positive late last week.

Dr Chant said three further cases reported today were linked to the funeral events in the Bankstown area.

 

[Himeno]

This plus the St PiusX cluster in Newcastle puts a lot of doubt on the earlier advice to teachers that COVID was highly unlikely to spread in school settings between students or from students to teachers. I think we should all be applauding the work of teachers who are clearly on the front line every day.

Victorian data has shown that spread within schools isn't likely. Students in VIC have been getting infected at home and in non school social settings.
NSW Health has also said that Covid doesn't spread like the flu and that spread data does not suggest the need to keep schools closed, also stating that if this were a flu, then schools would be closed and would stay closed for the duration of the pandemic.

Spread data shows that students are unlikely to infect each other or school staff and that the only apparent student to student spread has come from older students (15-18 year olds) infecting their friends outside schools.
ie, students are infecting their friends. They are not infecting the student sitting next to them in class.

Victoria closed schools, not because of any danger of spread at schools, but to prevent 700,000 daily trips on public transport.

 

[Princess Fiona]

This plus the St PiusX cluster in Newcastle puts a lot of doubt on the earlier advice to teachers that COVID was highly unlikely to spread in school settings between students or from students to teachers. I think we should all be applauding the work of teachers who are clearly on the front line every day.

I’m not aware of any other cases at St Pius X
One student there and two close contacts (family).

 

[Lynda2475]

One student there

And that student was playing on a football team outside of school, contact sports and the associated travel to matches away from home a more likely source of infection than attending school.

The earlier OLMC case was part of the funeral cluster.

 

[Seat0B]

I’m not aware of any other cases at St Pius X
One student there and two close contacts (family).

Thanks, my error, was thinking of this

St Pius X confirmed case has 140 close contacts

Hunter New England told all 140 close contacts today about their requirement to self isolate for 14 days.

www.newcastleherald.com.au

 

[Lynda2475]

I missed the PMs address today as was on a work call, but SMH is running a headline that says "PM doubts border restrictions will lift before Christmas" does anyone know if he was talking about State or International?

I doubt anyone would be surprised re international, but Id really hoped it might be possible to have a domestic break by Christmas.

 

[moa999]

Still in NSW seemingly no more contacts from Ports Point cluster which shows the contract tracing procedure can work

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

NSW total community transmission (unknown source) since before Crossroads emerged Is 18, of which 11 are in the last 2 weeks.

Confirmed cases to date

By likely source of infection	Count
Overseas	2,040​
Interstate acquired	85​
Locally acquired – contact of a confirmed case and/or in a known cluster	1,182​
Locally acquired – contact not identified	379​
Under investigation	0​
Total	3,686​

Counts reported for a particular day may vary over time with ongoing enhanced surveillance activities.


NSW COVID-19 case statistics - up to 8pm 9 August 2020

Local COVID-19 transmission in the last two weeks

Cases

• This week 69
• Last week 90
• Change trending_down 21

Known source

• This week 61
• Last week 87
• Change trending_down 26

Unknown source

• This week 8
• Last week 3
• Change trending_up 5

Tests

• This week 143,128
• Last week 149,697
• Change trending_down 6,569

 

[Flying mermaid]

I missed the PMs address today as was on a work call, but SMH is running a headline that says "PM doubts border restrictions will lift before Christmas" does anyone know if he was talking about State or International?

I doubt anyone would be surprised re international, but Id really hoped it might be possible to have a domestic break by Christmas.

He said it was unlikely that the domestic economy would be open before Christmas. WA is likely to keep borders closed until March.....

 

[Gremlin]

I missed the PMs address today as was on a work call, but SMH is running a headline that says "PM doubts border restrictions will lift before Christmas" does anyone know if he was talking about State or International?

I doubt anyone would be surprised re international, but Id really hoped it might be possible to have a domestic break by Christmas.

He was talking state borders...

 

[Pushka]

Cough, Israel, Cough

Is it a high school? The age of older students might change the theory on transmissability.

 

[Pushka]

Still in NSW seemingly no more contacts from Ports Point cluster which shows the contract tracing procedure can work

It works in SA as long as the Governments are prepared to isolate those who are close contacts. This happened last week in SA where 70 close contacts were put into hotel isolation at our cost but am fully onboard with that. Around 1000 secondary contacts were put into self iso and checked on. So far, nothing in 8 days after exposure after the initial 5 positives from the worker who had been in Vic as essential worker.

 

[RooFlyer]

Cough, Israel, Cough

What?

 

[Lynda2475]

He said it was unlikely that the domestic economy would be open before Christmas. WA is likely to keep borders closed until March.....

Well WA doesn't surprise me, they wont let anyone in until zero cases. But Im surprised there is so little confidence in being able to get numbers down such that NSW can travel north again. Guess only options are Canberra or Byron.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Is it a high school? The age of older students might change the theory on transmissability.

As I reported a while yes back it does and it has been known for some time that older students are a transmission risk.

As students get adult like bodies they basically have the same transmission risk as young adults.

So young children low risk. Older children higher risk, and the more mature the body the higher the risk.

The other factor with older students is that they will also socialise out of school hours, and so while at school they may be wearing facemasks, practising social distancing at school etc, that goes out the window after school.

This socialising after school was found in Israel to have largely fuelled one of their school clusters. And at the large Al Al-Taqwa College Cluster in Melbourne.

 

[Lynda2475]

Senior high school students also more likely to work in supermarket or fast food services where they are exposed to many many people.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Well WA doesn't surprise me, they wont let anyone in until zero cases. But Im surprised there is so little confidence in being able to get numbers down such that NSW can travel north again. Guess only options are Canberra or Byron.

You are welcome in Canberra All the museums are open again and its lovely in Spring and summer