A spokesperson for Northern NSW Local Health District told The Echo this morning that around 600 schoolies were provided with Rapid Antigen Testing (RAT) at the Ballina-
Byron Gateway Airport on Saturday ahead of their departure from Byron Bay at the conclusion of their booked vacation.
These individuals included those who had been guests at the Discovery Park Byron
Bay, and others who had been staying in other accommodation throughout the town.
Six further positive cases were detected through the RAT process, which have since
been confirmed with PCR tests.
NSW Health has been in contact with all the young people to keep them informed of
the situation as it has developed, and to provide advice about travel, isolation and
testing requirements.
Throughout Friday and Saturday, Northern NSW Local Health District worked closely
with Qantas/ Jetstar and Virgin Airlines, the Ballina-Byron Gateway Airport and NSW
Police to ensure the onward travel arrangements minimised any risk to the general
public, and to advise on infection prevention protocols for airlines and bus
companies.
Contact tracing is underway to determine any close contacts of confirmed cases, and
these individuals will be contacted by NSW Health with updated advice.
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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