Lane Cove COVID 19 Update 5th May 2020 – Lane Cove off “Hot Spot” List

On 27 April 2020, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant announced the Lane Cove Local Government area was considered a virus “hot spot”.

The use of the term hot spot came as a surprise to many locals as the number of confirmed COVID19 cases in the Lane Cove Council Area had remained stable for at least two weeks before this announcement.

Since that announcement, NSW Health has stopped using the term “hot spot” and has started using the phrase “areas for increased testing and surveillance”.

On 4 May 2020, the Lane Cove Council area was removed as an area for increased testing and surveillance.

ITC asked Northern Sydney Local Health District  to explain why Lane Cove has been removed from the list, and a spokesperson advised as follows:

“Areas, such as Lane Cove, are identified for further testing if there have been cases of community transmission of unknown origin.

While some areas identified have very few confirmed cases of COVID-19 where the source of infection has not been found, NSW Health considers these areas to be at elevated risk of community transmission.

When surveillance has found a reduction in such cases, the area is removed from the list.”

The current areas for increased testing and surveillance are:

  • Blacktown Local Government Area
  • Canada Bay Local Government Area
  • Cumberland Local Government Area
  • Inner West Local Government Area
  • Liverpool Local Government Area
  • Parramatta Local Government Area
  • Penrith Local Government Area​

A list of local government area where increased testing is required is published each day by NSW Health here.

Should Lane Cove Residents Still Get Tested?

Yes, anyone with a cough, fever, sore throat or shortness of breath should seek COVID-19 testing.

Testing is free at the 60 testing clinics run by NSW Health, and no referral from a GP is required.

Current advice is people with no symptoms (asymptomatic) do not require testing except in exceptional circumstances.

Where Can I Be Tested?

Testing is free at the 60 testing clinics run by NSW Health, and no referral from a GP is required. Results can take up to two days.

The full list of public COVID-19 clinics is available online here.  Note:  You do not need a GP referral to be tested here.

A complete list of private collection centres can be found here. A GP referral is required to be tested at private collection centres.

For information on private collection centres – where to go and what to bring read our article here.   Note this includes Drive Through Testing Centres.

NSW Latest COVID 19 Stats

NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) STATISTICS

As at 8 pm Monday 4 May 2020, three additional cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed since 8 pm 3 May 2020, bringing the total to 3,035.

During that time, 5,296 people were tested, compared to 5,571 people in the 24 hours before. NSW Health is pleased that residents with symptoms are coming forward and getting tested.

Confirmed cases (incl. interstate residents in NSW health care facilities) 3,035
Deaths (in NSW from confirmed cases) 45
Cases reported recovered 2,349
Cases tested and excluded 250,960
Total persons tested 253,995

 

There are currently 102 COVID-19 cases being treated by NSW Health. This includes 13 people being treated in Intensive Care Units, with 11 of those requiring ventilators. Seventy-Five per cent of cases are in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.

There have now been 2,349 people who have recovered from COVID-19 in NSW.

Latest COVID 19 Lane Cove Area and Nearby Suburb Cases

Postcode 2066 (Lane Cove Suburbs)

16 Confirmed Cases
4 Active Cases
12 Recovered Cases
1443Tested
31 626 Population

Postcode 2065 (Greenwich is included in this postcode)

22 Confirmed Cases
4 Active Cases
18 Recovered Cases
1430 Tested
30 119 Population

Postcode 2067  (Lane Cove North and Chatswood West are included in this postcode)

2 Confirmed Cases
1 Active Cases
1 Recovered Cases
720 Tested
26 403 Population

National Cabinet

The National Cabinet met today (Tuesday 5 May 2020) to further discuss options for easing restrictions over the coming months, to help prepare Australians to go back to work in a COVID-19 safe environment and getting the economy back to a more sustainable level.

The following statement was released after the National Cabinet met:

“We need to continue to have the right controls in place to test more people, trace those who test positive and respond to local outbreaks when they occur. These are precedent conditions to enable Australia to relax baseline restrictions and enable Australians to live and work in a COVID-19 safe economy.

National Cabinet encouraged Australians to download the COVIDSafe app to ensure that we can protect Australians and reset baseline restrictions. Nearly 5 million Australians have already downloaded the COVIDSafe app. This is an enormous achievement, but more is needed.

National Cabinet welcomed New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern for a part of today’s meeting to discuss our countries’ approaches to combating the virus. We agreed to start work on a trans-Tasman COVID-19 safe travel zone, easing travel restrictions between Australia and New Zealand. This arrangement would be put in place once it is safe to do so, with the necessary health, transport and other protocols to protect public health. Any arrangement would need to factor in state and territory movement restrictions. A travel zone would assist both countries’ economic recovery, help kick-start our tourism and transport sectors, enhance existing sporting links, and reunite families and friends.
National Cabinet agreed to meet again on Friday 8 May 2020.

Establishing a COVID-19 Safe Australia – returning to work safely and confidently

The Chair of the National COVID-19 Coordination Commission, Mr Neville Power, briefed National Cabinet on the importance of a proactive and consistent approach to supporting businesses and workers to safely return to work – drawing on the National COVID-19 Safe Workplace Principles that had been agreed by National Cabinet on 24 April 2020.

National Cabinet agreed that Safework Australia would be the single source of information, which will allow businesses to plan with confidence and consistency. A toolkit is being developed for businesses to use, to help them be work-ready in a COVID-19 safe environment. National Cabinet encouraged businesses to be prepared for reopening, to protect their workers and protect their business.

Establishing a COVID-19 Safe Australia – removing baseline restrictions

National Cabinet agreed to establish a three-step framework to gradually remove baseline restrictions to enable Australians to live in a COVID-19 safe economy. Details will be determined by National Cabinet on Friday 8 May 2020.

Individual states and territories will determine the timeframe for graduating between steps and individual restrictions to remove. This reflects the fact that states and territories are at different stages of the pandemic response, with 6 of 8 states and territories now recording multiple zero case days.

National Cabinet noted that the Northern Territory has announced that by 5 June 2020, it will be able to remove many restrictions, while maintaining social distancing, hygiene and travel restrictions.

National Cabinet aims to have a sustainable COVID-19 safe economy in July 2020. This will be subject to strong epidemiology results, testing, tracing and local surge health response capacity. National Cabinet noted that some health measures will need to be in place for a considerable period of time including social distancing, strong hygiene and international travel restrictions. Some jurisdictions may choose to maintain interstate travel restrictions.”

Say Thanks to our Frontline Works – Hospital Staff, Teachers and Early Childhood Educators

In the Cove, readers can show their appreciation of our vital frontline workers hospital staff, teachers and early childhood educators in Lane Cove and Ryde Hospital.

After the success of the Buntastic Hot Cross Bun Drive. We are now In the PInk.

We would like to give a treat to the night shift at Ryde Hospital and to teachers and early educators in Lane Cove School, Pre Schools and Kindies.

In the Cove and the Health, Staff Appreciation Project has joined together to raise money for some yummy pink finger buns.

We know that it is tough times out there, so you can donate any amount you like. Every cent is gratefully accepted.

We would love you to donate $10  – that will a be a treat for 5 frontline workers. You can donate more if you like

Donate here

It would be fantastic if you helped us reach our goal. Imagine the smile on the face of our frontline workers as they bite into a beautiful fresh Bakers Delight Hot Finger Buns.

Please contact us at [email protected] and provide details of how many teachers and admins staff you have on-site and we will see what we can do. That is for schools located in the Lane Cove Council Area (including Lane Cove, Lane Cove West, Lane Cove North Mowbray and Greenwich)

Final Coles Community Hour on Thursday as trading hours get back to normal

Coles released the following statement today:

“From this Friday, Coles will be expanding trading hours for everyone, including opening almost 200 stores earlier at 6 am.  The changes are being made to help ease the pressure faced by all Australians, including parents and carers who are busy home schooling their children, in addition to many customers working from home.

For the past seven weeks, the first hour of the trade from 7 am to 8 am on weekdays has been dedicated to Coles Community Hour, so elderly and vulnerable customers, as well as emergency services and healthcare workers, could have access to essential food and groceries.

Coles Chief Operations Officer Matt Swindells said Coles Community Hour had been very popular with eligible shoppers, but now that demand for groceries and product availability were returning to more normal levels it was time to welcome all customers back whenever stores were open.

“Our number one priority remains the health and safety of customers and our team members. As the Government begins to look at easing restrictions, customers should remember that appropriate safety practices will still apply and ask all customers to support with the same amazing collaboration we’ve seen in the past few weeks,” he said.

“The reason we started Coles Community Hour was because excess demand led to limited availability, which meant we had lots of people eager to get into stores early in the morning. Having a dedicated shopping hour for some of the most vulnerable members of the community, as well as those working on the frontline of the COVID-19 pandemic, was really beneficial.

“With supply almost back to normal for essential groceries, Coles is reopening this hour to all customers again as well as opening earlier where we can, to make shopping more convenient for everyone in the community.”

Coles has also reopened Coles Online orders, which had been dedicated entirely to elderly and vulnerable customers during the peak of demand, to all shoppers – providing another shopping option to customers who may otherwise have needed to visit a store.

“We’ve doubled our capacity in Coles Online so there is now more opportunity than ever for customers to either have their groceries delivered to their homes or collect them at their convenience,” Mr Swindells said.”

ABS Data – One Million Australians Have Lost Their Job

Data analysed by the Australian Bureau of Statistics data found up to a million Australians had lost their jobs since social distancing measures were implemented.

ABS Household Survey Results

The ABS has released a study for the period Mid March 2020 to Mid April 2020 on the household impacts of COVID-19 include financial, wellbeing and social measures.

  • 1 in 3 people’s households are worse off financially
  • 81% of households are able to raise $2,000 in an emergency, compared to 84% in 2014
  • 1 in 10 households has drawn down on savings
  • 3% have reduced home loan repayments
  • 1 in 4 Australians received the one-off $750 stimulus payment from the Government. 53% of payment recipients put it into savings. Recipients 65 years and older are more likely to save their stimulus payments (71%)
  • Almost twice as many Australians reported signs of nervousness or restlessness compared to 2017-18. Nervousness has increased from 20% in 2017-18 to 35% in 2020. Restlessness has increased from 24% to 42%
  • Australians are heeding social distancing measures, with fewer people seeing friends and family outside their home in person. In 2014, 76% had done so in the past week, compared to 48% in 2020

Full report here.

Anticipated Business Impacts

Seven in ten businesses reported that reduced cash flow (72%) and reduced demand for goods and services (69%) are expected to have an adverse impact over the next two months.

This compares to two-thirds of businesses reporting reduced demand for goods and services (64%) and reduced cash flow or turnover (66%) in the March Business Impacts of COVID-19 survey.

Two in five businesses reported that they expect uncertain financial markets as a result of COVID-19 to have an adverse impact on business in the next two months; several businesses commented that this uncertainty was specifically related to the value of the Australian dollar and commodity prices.

Mental Health Services and Support

If your child is currently studying HSC and you would like to speak to a local. Narelle Gillies is a Lane Cove Mum who has had a child go through HSC and another child in Year 11. She is also a Psychotherapist/Adolescent Counsellor specialising in the wellbeing of teenagers, young adults and parents. Narelle uses a strengths-based approach to support people dealing with anxiety, depression, grief, trauma, low self-esteem, body image issues, behavioural challenges, self-harm, academic difficulties, relationship problems and family conflict. Click here for more information. 

You can call the crisis lines listed below 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Beyond Blue
1300 22 46 36

Lifeline
131 114

Kids Helpline
1800 551 800

Mental Health Line
1800 011 511

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