Highlights
- NSW recorded 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday
- Crossroads Hotel outbreak grew to 40 cases.
- ‘Need more testing clinics’, Jodi McKay
NSW Opposition Leader Jodi McKay has called for declaring South West Sydney as a COVID hotspot and increase testing options across Sydney as it battles growing number of coronavirus cases.
Ms McKay in an exclusive chat with SBS Hindi said people in NSW had become complacent.
“We have become complacent. And I say we because it is all of us.
“Within government, if you look at the restrictions that were eased for pubs and hotels, the government admitted there, they were going to look at June as an education month and look at compliance enforcement in July. I don’t think we should have taken our foot off the brake on compliance and enforcement," Ms McKay said.
Following the Crossroads Hotel cluster outbreak, Ms McKay called for declaring South West Sydney as a COVID hot spot.
Source: Supplied
The number of COVID-19 cases linked to the south-western Sydney pub reached 34 on Wednesday with fears that the virus may have spread further.
Ms McKay said it was time to declare it a hotspot and increase testing in the area.
“As soon as you have a hotspot declared, you have every resource of government, put into that area. That means we should have had more pop-up clinics. We have had mile-long queues, two-kilometre-long queues of people in their car, idling, waiting to get tested at Casula and at Picton.
“I called for more testing on Sunday, on Monday, on Tuesday, again and today and finally the Minister this afternoon said there will be more testing facilities,” she told SBS Hindi.
Listen to the podcast:
The contact tracers in Sydney have identified patient zero from the Crossroads outbreak as a Melbourne freight worker who came to his Sydney office, infected several colleagues at their workplace before they all went for a dinner party at the south-western Sydney pub on July 3rd.
“This is the first time we have seen community transmission. And today they have been able to trace it to patient zero which is a chap who travelled from Melbourne and met a group of workmates and six of them are infected. And these six people have gone out to do – whatever they do on the weekend and that’s where it has spread,” Ms McKay said.
McKay added declaring it as a hotspot will help put people on high alert and deal with complacency.
Feeling unwell? Here’s where you can get tested for coronavirus in NSW
NSW recorded 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, and the Crossroads Hotel outbreak grew to 40 cases.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
