NSW Health has ordered doctors in Bondi to increase coronavirus testing and warned people to be wary of "infected backpackers" amid a cluster of cases in the area.
Key points:
- Doctors have been ordered to test all patients with symptoms in Bondi, regardless of their travel history
- Testing has declined across NSW and there is concern about increased community transmission
- Three more crew members from the Ruby Princess cruise ship were taken to hospital last night
As the number of infections in the state passed 2,000, health authorities revealed they were particularly concerned about COVID-19 outbreaks in Sydney's eastern suburbs, including Bondi and Waverley.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said her team was working with St Vincent's Hospital to set up a pop-up coronavirus clinic in Bondi.
Dr Chant said the outbreak in the eastern suburbs was largely among backpackers.
"But we do know there is a potential risk that other members of the community may have come in contact with infected backpackers. For prudency, we want to increase testing," she said.
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Yesterday, doctors in Bondi received text messages from NSW Health urging them to increase testing.
"Please arrange COVID-19 testing for anyone in the Bondi area who is symptomatic, regardless of their travel history," the message said.
In the 24 hours to 8:00pm Monday, there were 114 new coronavirus infections in NSW, taking the state's total to 2,032.
While the number of new cases in the state continues to trend down, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that was irrelevant.
"That's not the number to look at," she said.
"What we need to consider is the community transmission that we might not even know about."
Dr Chant confirmed there had been a decline in testing numbers.
"Today I'm really urging that we increase the testing particularly in areas where there's community transmission or around clusters," she said.
Dr Chant said the drop in testing may be a result of the "weekend effect".
"Obviously, the access to general practitioners over the weekend may have accounted for it," she said.
NSW has the capacity to increase its testing rate, Dr Chant said, and labs no longer had a backlog of tests to process.
Last week, NSW Health data revealed there had been high rates of infections in the local government areas of Waverley, which includes Bondi, and nearby Woollahra.
Meanwhile, three more crew members from the coronavirus-plagued Ruby Princess cruise ship have been taken to hospital in Sydney overnight.
The water police and the ambulance service were involved in the operation at Botany Bay in Sydney.
The latest operation comes after three other crew members were evacuated from the ship on Sunday night, suffering respiratory symptoms.
The ship is at the centre of a major coronavirus outbreak with more than 200 passengers contracting the virus.
Earlier this month, the ship was allowed to disembark all 2,700 passengers despite several people on board being tested for coronavirus.
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