Covid update: Sunday
10th October 2021
56 NEW LOCAL CASES COVID UPDATE - 11.10am Sunday October 10 A bit better than the past few days - another 56 new cases were reported in the Hunter health district in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, including 16 in Lake Macquarie. These new cases take the total number in the latest local outbreak to 1686. EASY GUIDE TO RESTRICTIONS CHANGES: Remember that changes to restrictions come into effect tomorrow but only for people who are fully vaccinated. Key highlights of that change include:• Up to 10 fully vaccinated visitors (not counting children 12 and under) to a home (previously five)
• Up to 30 fully vaccinated people will be able to attend outdoor gatherings (previously 20)
• Increasing the cap for weddings and funerals to 100 people (previously 50).
• Indoor pools will also be re-opened for swimming lessons, squad training, lap swimming, and rehab activities.
Please remember that existing restrictions remain in place for people who are single dosed or unvaccinated. Things will change for those people in about two weeks when the State hits 80% full vaccination and from December 1 when all restrictions will be lifted, regardless of vaccination status. Full details on Monday's changes HERE.
Of today's new cases in the Hunter-New England district:
16 are from Lake Macquarie LGA- 1 in Barnsley
- 1 in Belmont
- 1 in Charlestown
- 1 in Cooranbong
- 1 in Edgeworth
- 1 in Mount Hutton
- 1 in Teralba
- 1 in Toronto
- 1 in Warners Bay
- 3 in Windale
- 2 in Woodrising
- 2 in Wyee
15 are from Cessnock LGA- 1 in Aberdare
- 1 in Abermain
- 1 in Cliftleigh
- 1 in Ellalong
- 3 in Greta
- 1 in Heddon Greta
- 1 in Kearsley
- 3 in Kurri Kurri
- 1 in Lovedale
- 1 in Paxton
- 1 in Weston
4 are from Maitland LGA- 1 in East Maitland
- 1 in Maitland
- 1 in Rutherford
- 1 in Telarah
6 are from Newcastle LGA- 1 in Bar Beach
- 1 in Birmingham Gardens
- 1 in Fletcher
- 1 in Merewether
- 1 in New Lambton Heights
- 1 in Wallsend
7 are from Tamworth Regional LGA- 1 in South Tamworth
- 5 in Tamworth
- 1 in West Tamworth
3 are from Mid Coast LGA- 1 in Bretti
- 2 in Taree
2 are from Port Stephens LGA- 1 in Millers Forest
- 1 in North Arm Cove
2 are from Singleton LGA- 1 in Singleton
- 1 in Hunterview
1 is from Upper Hunter Shire LGA- 1 in Scone
25 local people are being cared for in hospital. Four are in ICU. STATUS AND CLOSE CONTACTS: Of those new cases, 40 are linked, 11 are unlinked and 5 are still under investigation. Further, 27 were infectious in the community, while 24 were isolating while infectious and the remaining 5 are still under investigation. We still have 1077 active cases in the Hunter Region. EXPOSURE SITES: A number of sites at Morisset as well as a Virgin flight into Newcastle from Melbourne are among the latest exposure sites named by Hunter-New England Health overnight. More details on the new sites (including a link to the full list at NSW Health) are on my website HERE. VAX CLINIC FOR HOSPITALITY WORKERS TODAY: The Belmont vaccination hub will be offering priority vaccinations for all hospitality workers TODAY from 8am to 2.45pm. If you work in clubs, restaurants, cafes, hotels etc, book HERE. NEW TESTING CLINIC FOR RATHMINES: A new drive-thru testing clinic will open at Rathmines tomorrow. The clinic, run by 4Cyte Pathology, will operate in Rathmines Park on the former RAAF base. It will operate Mon-Fri from 7.30am to 3.30pm, and on Saturdays from 7.30am - noon. Meanwhile, testing clinics at Morisset and Warners Bay will operate as normal. STATEWIDE: There were 477 new cases reported throughout NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Sadly, another 6 deaths were recorded over the past 24 hours. HOSPITALISATIONS: There are now 794 people currently being treated for Covid-19 in NSW hospitals, with 159 in ICU and 76 requiring ventilators. STATEWIDE VACCINATIONS: To 11.59pm on Friday 8 October across NSW, 90.1 per cent of the over-16 population had received a first dose COVID-19 vaccine, and 72.8 per cent were fully vaccinated. TESTING: The importance of getting tested has never been more important in the local area. Please don't be complacent. If you experience any symptoms, please get tested as soon as possible. QUESTIONS: Please see my Facebook or Website pages for answers to frequently asked questions. Service NSW also has a 24/7 hotline where people are available to answer questions. You can reach them on 13 77 88. STAY SAFE, stay vigilant, and stay home unless you absolutely have to go somewhere.