Covid update - Monday


12th July 2021
Firstly, the use of QR codes is mandatory from today at pretty much all businesses and venues throughout NSW. These businesses must offer an alternative for those
¿ IMPORTANT COVID UPDATE - Monday July 12 ¿
¿ A couple of very important things to pass on today.
¿ Firstly, the use of QR codes is mandatory from today at pretty much all businesses and venues throughout NSW. These businesses must offer an alternative for those who do not have a digital device or smart phone, so that might be a manual sign-in form, or they might record your visit on their own digital device. This system does not 'track' you as some people have complained, it records your visit to a shop or location so that you can be contacted if an infected person was there at the same time. It's a little inconvenient but an invaluable tool for our tracing teams in our fight to stay ahead of the virus. Full details here.
¿ Secondly, bookings for Belmont vaccination hub also open today. I'm aware that some people are having issues with the booking link. Hunter Health is aware of this issue and is in the process of getting things running a bit more smoothly. At this stage, the hub is providing Pfizer vaccines only to eligible people. AstraZeneca vaccines are available through your GP or the small hub at Toronto (0436 817 128). You'll be able to book your appointment at Belmont here.
¿ My office still getting a lot of inquiries about people working in or visiting the Central Coast and Sydney. Someone living on the CCoast or Greater Sydney simply cannot come here unless it's essential. If you live here but work on the Central Coast or Sydney, or even if you have to visit those areas for a one-off essential reason, you must follow the stay at home orders back home (your household or family do not). Those stay at home rules are here.
¿ As the Premier and Dr Kerry Chant predicted yesterday, the number of cases in the Greater Sydney area rose again by 112 in the 24 hours to 8pm. Of those, 34 were active in the community at some stage during their infectious period.
¿ There are now 18 people being treated in ICU and four on ventilators. One new death was recorded in Sydney yesterday. It was the first death since December 27 and brings the NSW death toll to 57 (911 nationally).
¿ Of those in ICU, one is aged in their 20s, one in the 30s, 1 in their 40s, five in their 50s, 6 in their 60s, 3 in their 70s and 1 in their 80s. This variant is obviously impacting all age groups, and some quite severely.
¿ Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and the Lower Hunter remain incredibly lucky - no community transmission for 340 days. There are just three cases being treated on the Central Coast, all were contracted in Sydney, all are in isolation and were not in the Central Coast community while infectious.
¿ As I keep saying, a little bit of common sense and precaution goes a long way. We are still in a very serious pandemic and we all need to do our bit to protect ourselves, our families and friends and everyone else in the local community. Stay safe!

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