A suspected case of COVID-19 from an employee at Warringah Timbers in Cromer turned out to be a false positive.
Manly Observer was contacted by scores of Beaches residents yesterday and overnight concerned they had heard via the grapevine that a positive test had come back at the store. We checked in with NSW Health and other key contacts who advised us to wait until any official announcement before reporting the positive test, which we did.
We phoned the timber specialist store this morning and spoke with a very relieved employee Scott Bramble, who confirmed that an employee did originally receive a positive test, sending the team “jumping into emergency mode and getting every body tested”, but they had since been told it was a false positive and subsequent tests had been negative.
“About three quarters of all our phone calls today have been people concerned about the positive case – what a relief it was a false [alarm].”
We await but may not receive confirmation of the above from NSW Health, given other priority matters today.
Meanwhile, Wakehurst MP and NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard, who was originally identified as a close contact of a COVID-19 case (Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall) is now deemed a casual contact and has returned a negative covid result.
Manly MP James Griffin told Manly Observer this morning he has had no contact with Adam Marshall or physical interaction with Brad Hazzard yesterday, other than sharing the floor during Question Time.
James Griffin was recently given the role of parliamentary health secretary.
“Fair to say I am supporting Brad and the Health team, whilst staying focused on our local community,” he said.
As announced on 25 June, following updated health advice to prevent further transmission of COVID-19, stay-at-home orders are being introduced for at least one week for those people who live in, or whose usual place of work is in, Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney Local Government Areas.
Due to the risk associated with an increasing number of exposure venues where transmission has occurred, from 11.59pm tonight until at least 11.59pm on Friday 2 July, residents of, or people whose usual place of work is in, the four LGAs must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason.
We have a number of queries with NSW Health regarding how these orders may affect residents of the Northern Beaches.
