COVID testing figures at Gosford Hospital were almost 50 per cent higher in the week ending August 1 than in the preceding week.
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch, is urging local residents to continue getting tested, with 23 exposure sites in the region currently listed on the NSW Health website.
Crouch said 3,527 tests had been conducted at Gosford and Wyong Hospitals in the week to August 1, an increase of 243 per cent over the previous week, in addition to thousands of tests conducted at 13 privately operated clinics across the Central Coast.
“I want to thank everyone identified as a casual or close contact who responded by taking a COVID-19 test,” Crouch said.
“Every close contact is also required to undergo subsequent tests on days seven and 12 of their two-week self-isolation.”
Crouch said the detection of COVID-19 in Toukley’s sewerage plant on July 29 was causing concern for health authorities.
“There are 29,000 people living in 13 suburbs serviced by the Toukley sewerage plant, including Budgewoi and Toukley, who are being asked to remain on high alert,” he said.
“With no known active cases in these suburbs, this detection is particularly concerning to the Central Coast’s Public Health Unit.
“High rates of testing are the only way that health authorities can track down cases of COVID-19 silently circulating in our community.
“The Delta strain is many times more contagious than previous strains of COVID-19, and this is why we cannot afford to be complacent.”
The common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, sore or scratchy throat, runny nose, shortness of breath and loss of taste or smell.
Source:
Media release, Aug 2
Parliamentary Secretary for the Central Coast, Adam Crouch