COVID-19 update in New South Wales

To many people COVID-19 may feel like a thing of the past but each week there are still thousands of new cases and many deaths.

In a snap shot of last week in New South Wales we can see the from NSW Health, the current statistics around the virus.

There were 12,393 new cases in New South Wales in the 7 days leading up to 4pm Friday, April 20 – 7,273 were confirmed by PCR and 5,120 confirmed by Rapid Antigen Test (RAT). This figure is well up on last week’s total of 9,636 cases.

Three-hundred and thirty-six of the new cases were in Northern NSW.

3,974,734 since the beginning of pandemic

The total NSW cases since the beginning of pandemic, of PCR and RAT cases combined is 3,974,734.

COVID-19 hospitalisations and in the time frame were 1,139 with 26 people in ICU. There were 29 deaths reported during the 7 days bringing the total since the beginning of pandemic, to 6,685.

NSW Health is reminding people that if you test positive you may be infectious for up to 10 days. You are most infectious in the two days before your symptoms start and while you have acute symptoms (such as a runny nose, sore throat, fever, cough). Some people with COVID-19 do not develop symptoms at all but are still able to infect others.

To reduce the risk to others NSW Health recommends you: 

1.Stay home until your acute symptoms have gone. If you are at higher risk of severe illness, speak with your doctor as soon as you test positive. You may be eligible for antiviral medicines or other treatments for COVID-19. Antiviral medicines work best when used as soon as symptoms start.

2.Don’t visit people at high risk of severe illness, anyone in hospital or an aged or disability care facility for at least 7 days.

3.Wear a mask when indoors and on public transport, if you must leave your home.

4.Avoid large gatherings and indoor crowded places, especially where you will be in contact with groups of people you don’t live with.

5.Talk to your employer about when you should return to the workplace.
You should talk to your workplace about working from home, where possible. If you work in a high-risk setting such as health, disability and aged care, it is recommended that you stay away from the workplace for at least 7 days and until you have no symptoms to help protect other staff, patients, residents, and clients.  If your employer needs you to return to the workplace before this time, they may ask you to take additional steps to protect others, subject to their work, health and safety assessment.

6.Tell people that you live with, or spend a lot of time with, that you have COVID-19.
People you live with or spend a lot of time indoors with are at greatest risk of catching COVID-19 from you. You should tell them you have tested positive and try to separate from them as much as possible. They should test regularly and monitor for symptoms. If they get sick, they should get tested and stay home. They should follow the Information for people exposed to COVID-19 fact sheet.

7.Register your positive rapid antigen test result with Service NSW.
If you or someone in your family can’t register online, please call Service NSW on 13 77 88. Registering your result helps you access medical support from NSW Health, including antiviral medicines if you are eligible, and also assists NSW Health respond to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This keeps you, your loved ones and the community safe. If you tested positive on a PCR test, you do not need to register your result.

For more information and facts sheets, visit: www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19.