Northern NSW Local Health District is urging people to get tested for COVID-19 at
the first sign of symptoms and isolate until a negative result is received.
Local Government Area has 96 new cases:
• Byron 57
• Ballina 18
• Lismore 9
• Tweed 8
• Clarence Valley 4
• Richmond Valley –
Northern NSW Local Health District, Chief Executive, Wayne Jones, says there is one COVID-positive patient in hospital in Northern NSW. ‘To date, no cases in NNSWLHD have been confirmed as the Omicron variant of concern.
‘The most common locations for transmission of COVID-19 in our region continue to
be pubs, parties and gatherings in indoor spaces.
‘We encourage people to celebrate the end of year outdoors where possible, and to
stay home if you are unwell, get a test, and isolate.
Find your nearest testing clinic on the NSW Government website or contact your GP.
Hospital visitors restricted
With increasing transmission rates across NSW, hospitals and health facilities within Northern NSW Local Health District are now restricting all visitors.
Women accessing birthing services can continue to nominate one support person
(participant in care) during her labour, birth and post-birth.
Local exemptions will be considered on a case by cases basis by site management,
and consideration will be given to compassionate and palliative care circumstances.
You can also find information about visitor restrictions on our website at:
https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/about/important-updates-for-visitors/
Updated advice for people who are diagnosed with COVID-19
Updates have been made to fact sheets following the easing of restrictions:
• Close contacts of COVID-19 (nsw.gov.au)
• Confirmed positive cases of COVID-19
• Casual contacts are no longer identified.
Mr Jones says the NSW Health is evolving contact tracing and is prioritising case interviews and detailed follow up with people diagnosed with COVID-19 who have been to a place where there are people at high risk of severe disease, such as in healthcare, aged care, disability care, Aboriginal people and communities, and correctional facilities.
‘The updated fact sheets advise cases and close contacts of what steps they need to follow, including advice to prompt their social contacts to be tested.
‘Exposure risk assessments in all other settings, like workplaces, are managed by those venues directly. Step-by-step instructions for businesses can be found via the NSW Health 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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COVID-19 update for the NNSWLHD – May 23
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