It has been 400 days since the last COVID-19 case in Dubbo and locals desperately hope that run continues after a couple who later tested positive visited the western New South Wales town.
Key points:
- The man and woman travelled from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast through western NSW last week
- A number of venues in Dubbo, Forbes, Moree and Gillenbah have been identified as “of concern”
- NSW Health is continuing to update its list of venues and times
Hundreds of cars were queued down the street from the moment a pop-up COVID test clinic opened at Dubbo Showground.
The man and woman visited the state’s west last week while travelling from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast.
Several “venues of concern” have been identified by NSW Health in towns including Dubbo, Forbes, Moree and Gillenbah.
Anyone who attended certain venues at the same time as the potentially infectious couple is being told to get tested and isolate.
Western NSW COVID-19 alerts:
Anyone who attended the following venues at these times should immediately get tested and isolate until they receive further advice from NSW Health.
- Dubbo – CSC Café on June 2 from 11:30am to 2:30pm
- Dubbo – Homestead Hotel between June 2 from 12:00pm to June 3 10:00am
- Dubbo – Reading Cinema on June 2 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm
- Dubbo – Shell Petrol Station at West Dubbo on June 2 from 10:30am to 11:30am
- Forbes – Brew Coffee Bar on June 2 from 7:00am to 10:00am
- Forbes – Vandenberg Hotel on June 1 from 6:00pm to 10:00pm
- Gillenbah – Caltex Narrandera on June 1 from 10:30am to 11:00am
- Moree – Amaroo Tavern on June 4 from 4:30pm to 11:00pm
- Moree – Cafe Omega:
- June 3 from 1:30pm to 4:30pm
- June 4 from 7:00am to 9:30am
- June 4 from 11:50am to 2:00pm
- Moree – Gwydir Carapark/Motel & Thermal Pools
- June 3 from 1:45pm to 11:59pm
- June 4 all day
- June 5 from 12:00am to 7:30am
- Moree – Woolworths Balo Street on June 3 from 3:30pm to 4:30pm
The Dubbo community has raced to get tested after a pair of potentially infectious travellers visited the town.(ABC Western Plains: Lucy Thackray
)
Café ‘of concern’ grinds on
One impacted venue is the CSC café in Dubbo, where a potentially infectious person is understood to have visited on June 2 from 11:30am to 2:30pm.
“Our six key café staff members were working that day and are now isolating,” owner Errin Williamson said.
“But it’s OK we’ll get through it.
CSC café owner Errin Williamson said the business been doing regular deep cleans since the pandemic began.(ABC Western Plains: Jen McCutcheon
)
“We’ve got a really amazing team here, all our staff want to help out.
“We had to contact all our staff, inform them of what happened and tell them to get tested.
“We’ve been offering them lots of support.”
Read our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic
The café remained open after authorities found CSCs normal cleaning processes were sufficiently thorough.
“Luckily we actually already do deep cleans more than weekly,” Ms Williamson said.
“I explained to [the NSW Health official] our deep clean process on the phone.
“She said that was perfect, so we haven’t have to do an extra deep clean.”
The café will continue to run while staff members who worked on June 2 isolate.
“We are running with a much smaller team at the moment,” Ms WIlliamson said.
“We’re bringing in staff members from our other business.”
Dubbo’s Reading Cinemas has been identified as a COVID exposure site.(Supplied: Ben O’Brien
)
Community response ‘wonderful’
There have been six COVID cases in the Dubbo region since the pandemic began.
State MP Dugald Saunders commended residents for their quick response.
“The Western NSW Local Health District has mobilised quickly to establish a drive-through clinic at the Dubbo Showground, and the scenes there this morning demonstrate that the Dubbo community is taking this situation seriously,” he said.
“It’s wonderful to see the Dubbo community doing the responsible thing and getting tested.
“We are yet to learn if the virus has spread to our community now.”
Dugald Saunders said the community response was fantastic.(ABC Western Plains: Lucy Thackray
)
Mr Saunders said he hoped preventative measures will keep the community safe.
“I am confident that the people of Dubbo have been practicing good hand hygiene, physical distancing, using QR codes to check in, and staying home and getting tested if sick,” he said.
“But if we do see an outbreak, then the way we are going to get on top of that is for people to come forward to get tested, so we can identify cases quickly and stop the spread.”
What you need to know about coronavirus:
The Dubbo Showground drive-through clinic will be open on Thursday and Friday from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
No appointment is required and the test is free.
“Please continue to do the right thing and follow the advice of health authorities,” Mr Saunders said.
“Our community has battled through drought, bushfires, floods and last years COVID-19 lockdown.
“We always come out the other side we will get through this too.”
Find more local news