A student at Macquarie University in Sydney has tested positive to COVID-19, as NSW records 12 new cases.
Macquarie University Vice Chancellor Professor S. Bruce Dowton confirmed the news in a statement this morning on the university website.
“A student who recently attended campus has tested positive for COVID-19,” Dowton said. “Following guidance from the authorities, measures are now underway to conduct contact tracing to inform people who may have come into contact with the student to get tested and self-isolate.”
The Macquarie University Sports and Aquatic Centre and 10 Hadenfeld Avenue have also been closed for the day for deep cleaning.
Dowton added that it isn’t necessary to close campus as a result of the incident, but urged all students to please get tested if they feel even the slightest bit unwell.
“While low community transmission rates of COVID-19 in New South Wales in recent weeks has been highly encouraging, we all have a responsibility to remain vigilant to the risks of infection,” he said.
This morning, NSW Health confirmed 12 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours leading up to 8pm last night.
Of the 12 new cases, four are returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine and eight are locally acquired.
Of those eight cases, three were announced to the public yesterday and are included in today’s tally.
One new case reported today was locally acquired, authorities said. The person is likely to have been infected some days ago and appears to be linked to the Liverpool Hospital Dialysis cluster from last month.
Four more cases are close contacts of this case.
12 new cases of #COVID19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Of the 12 new cases:
– 4 are returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine
– 8 are locally acquired (3 of these cases were announced to the public yesterday, and are included in today’s numbers) pic.twitter.com/NKLXGKmJlv— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 8, 2020
Yesterday’s three new cases of COVID-19 broke an almost two week streak of zero locally transmitted cases across NSW.
As a result, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk may delay opening the border to Sydney.
The border is slated to open November 1, but Palaszczuk said she has not ruled out pushing that date back.
She has given NSW health authorities 24 hours to trace the origins of the recent COVID-19 cases, before a decision is made.
Bit of a yikes.
Elsewhere, Victoria recorded 11 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and zero deaths. That takes the state’s 14-day rolling average to 9.7.
