NSW Health has announced the first case of Covid-19 in the Forbes shire and there has been another case detected in Parkes.
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The news was broken by Deputy Premier John Barilaro in NSW Health's 11am press conference.
The cases were two of 35 in the Western Local Health District.
There were six known cases in Parkes, detected on Sunday and Monday of this week, but Mr Barilaro said the new case was of concern.
There was one venue of concern in Forbes and a number in Parkes after the announcement of the earlier cases.
"The case in Parkes concerns us because we can't identify the source, so that does give us a level of concern," Mr Barilaro said.
Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM has urged people to not be frightened.
"We are so connected with Parkes that this was always going to happen," she said.
"We need to be kind. This is really sad for this person and we need to keep them in our prayers."
Mayor Miller has also urged everyone to continue to abide by the stay-at-home restrictions and importantly to seek out vaccination either through our local GPs and pharmacies or this weekend's walk-in clinic.
"Please, please sign in with QR cards and get vaccinated," she said.
The walk-in Covid-19 vaccination clinic is open at Forbes Town Hall:
- Saturday 28th August, 10am - 4pm
- Sunday 29th August, 9am - 4pm
- Monday 30th August, 9am - 3pm
Covid-19 testing is available at Forbes Showground:
- 8am to 2pm weekdays
Testing is available at Parkes Showground:
- 10am to 3pm
NSW recorded 1,029 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
The regional lockdown has been extended to at least midnight on September 10 but a roadmap for those who are vaccinated has been released.
In the mean time, Western NSW Local Health District chief executive Scott McLachlan is urging people to take the stay-at-home restrictions seriously and minimise movement around the region.
A reasonable excuse is if you need to:
- obtain food or other goods and services locally
- leave home to go to work if
- you cannot reasonably work from home and
- the business is allowed to be open
- you cannot reasonably work from home and
- the business is allowed to be open
- you cannot reasonably work from home and
- the business is allowed to be open
- leave home for education if it is not possible to do it at home
- exercise and take outdoor recreation within your local government area or within 5km of your home
- go out for medical or caring reasons, including obtaining a COVID-19 vaccination, providing care of assistance to a vulnerable loved one or in an emergency.
"That new case in Forbes is a real sign that we need everyone in the community to be really vigilant," Mr McLachlan said.
"If you've got any signs and symptoms however mild come out and get tested: there's some real urgency around this.
"Our contact tracing teams are working 24/7 to try and track down the venues of concern as quickly as possible."
The health district now has 18 patients in hospital with Covid-19: three of those are in intensive care and one needs to be on a ventilator.
"I can only imagine how scary it is for someone on a ventilator and their family," Mr McLachlan said.
"Please, I'm begging everyone, this is the time to protect our most vulnerable and our most loved community members.
"Everything we do is to keep them safe - take that into everything you do every day."
