The majority of new COVID-19 cases in the Northern NSW Health District (NNSWHD) were in the Byron Shire in the 24 hours to 8pm December 28.
Byron Shire saw 100 new cases followed by Tweed Shire with 51, Ballina Shire with 30, Lismore Shire with 19, Clarence Valley Shire with eight, and both Richmond Valley and Kyogle Shires with four each according to the NNSWHD.
‘Thirteen of those cases are being treated in hospital, with two of those in the ICU,’ they stated on their website.
Current cases
Overall NSW has seen 11,201 new cases with 61 people currently in ICU according to the COVID live website.
COVID Live states that Byron Shire currently has 1,017 active cases while Tweed Shire has 223, Ballina Shire 252, Lismore Shire 209, Clarence Valley Shire 188, both Richmond Valley Shire 48, and Kyogle Shire 33 active cases.
‘People are being urged to get tested for COVID-19 at the first sign of symptoms and isolate until a negative result is received,’ a spokesperson for the NNSWHD said.
‘All Northern NSW hospital testing clinics are operating under usual operating hours over the holiday period. Clinics run by other organisations may have different hours in the holiday period, so please check their websites first.’
‘If you do not have symptoms, it is advised to take a rapid antigen test as an additional precaution before going out, particularly if socialising in groups of people or anywhere it may be difficult to socially distance. Information on how to use rapid antigen tests is available on the NSW Government website.’
Recent stories, information and updates regarding COVID-19
New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Life shows life expectancy in Australia has decreased slightly for the second year in a row. An international team of researchers has found more evidence that COVID-19 came from animals in a Wuhan food market. The lab-leak theory that Covid-19 came from the Wuhan Institute of Virology – instead of a nearby wet market – was thrashed about in public recently, with the US Senate Homeland Security Committee holding a hearing into Covid-19. Eighteen schools in the Northern Rivers division of Richmond have received $25,000 each as part of the federal government’s School Upgrade Fund, Labor Member for Richmond Justine Elliot said last week. COVID-19 reversed earlier trends toward longer life expectancies. During the pandemic, life expectancies globally dropped by 1.6 years according to a new study published in the Lancet medical journal. Let’s not forget that Covid-19 is still a big issue in our community with 31,935 cases reported across Australia in the last week – an average of 4,562 cases per day. The Global Carbon Budget is about to be refreshed, giving the world a critical insight into how efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are (or are not) progressing. Masks will no longer be mandatory on public transport from tomorrow, Wednesday 21 September. SW Police are urging festival-goers at this weekend’s music festival to celebrate in a safe and responsible manner, whilst also being aware of COVID-Safety measures. The Northern NSW Local Health District reports that to 4pm yesterday, Sunday May 22, there were 40 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with one of these in ICU.
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