28.10.2021
3 min read

NSW Health issues urgent COVID-19 alert after FIFTEEN cases are traced back to ONE Sydney gym in Darlinghurst

Exercising in gyms in NSW is currently restricted to fully vaccinated patrons only.
Digital staffBy Digital staff

NSW could see further COVID restrictions eased

NSW Health is warning anyone who attended a busy inner city gym in Sydney to get tested for COVID-19 immediately after 15 confirmed cases were traced back to the venue.

“We have been notified of 15 confirmed cases of COVID-19 who either attended City Gym, Darlinghurst, while infectious or acquired their infection at the venue,” NSW Health said on Wednesday.

“People who attended this gym at certain times on 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 or 25 October 2021 are considered casual contacts and must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.”

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The dates and times of transmission are:

  • 8am to 11am on Saturday 23 October
  • 5pm to 7.30pm on Saturday 23 October
  • 6am to 11am on Friday 22 October
  • 1.30pm to 4pm on Friday 22 October
  • 6am to 4.15pm on Thursday 21 October
  • 6am to 11.30am on Wednesday 20 October
  • 6am to 9am on Tuesday 19 October
  • 5.30pm to 7pm on Tuesday 19 October
  • All day on Monday 18 October

NSW has seen likely events of COVID-19 transmission in bars and gyms since the state opened up nearly two weeks ago.

NSW Health’s Jeremy McAnulty said the “likely transmission” in high-risk indoor venues was a reminder to maintain COVID-safe behaviours at all times.

“It’s important that we all use masks when indoors,” Dr McAnulty said in a video update on Saturday.

Even fully-vaccinated people should come forward for testing if they experience symptoms, he said.

Vaccination is “very effective” but not perfect, and breakthrough infections can still occur, Dr McAnulty warned.

NSW COVID update

COVID-19 cases in NSW are hovering around 300 a day but spikes in some areas have health authorities calling for vigilance.

There were 304 new locally acquired infections and three deaths, including a man in his 30s, in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.

The cluster in the Hunter New England local government area continues to grow with 83 new cases - an overnight spike of 34 - comprising more than 27 per cent of the state’s new cases.

Once again the Murrumbidgee Local Health District, which includes the Victorian border town of Albury, recorded the second-highest daily tally with 38 new cases, while Wodonga on the other side of the border recorded 46 cases.

NSW's three latest COVID-19 deaths were Sydney residents, but outbreaks are growing in the regions. Credit: AAP

There were 36 cases in southwest Sydney, 22 from the mid-north coast and 22 from Sydney.

NSW Health said a man in his 30s from Sydney’s inner west who had received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine shortly before testing positive, died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital on Tuesday.

A man and a woman, one in their 70s and one in their 80s, also died. Neither were vaccinated.

NSW Health’s Marianne Gale called on people living in the inner west Sydney suburb of Dulwich Hill to remain vigilant for symptoms as cases there are on the rise.

She urged people to continue to come forward to get vaccinated saying it was “really important to get a second dose”.

“We’ve really done an extraordinary job in NSW of embracing vaccination and it continues to be one of the best ways to reduce your risk of catching COVID-19 and passing it on to others.”

Based on NSW data between August and October 2021, unvaccinated people were 24 times more likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the number of people in NSW hospitals with COVID-19 continues to decline.

There are now 418 COVID-19 patients in hospital - down 39 from the previous day - and 97 people are in intensive care, while 43 are ventilated.

The death toll from the current outbreak, which began in mid-June, is 506.

Of the NSW residents 16 and over, 93.2 per cent have received one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 85.5 per cent of adults are fully vaccinated.

In the 12 to 15-year-old age group, 78.3 per cent have had their first dose and 53 per cent are fully vaccinated.