NSW Health is investigating potential transmission of COVID-19 between returned travellers.
Routine genomic testing undertaken after the returned travellers tested positive now shows they share the same viral sequence for the B1.351 variant of concern, first identified in South Africa.
NSW Health is investigating the nature of transmission between the returned travellers, who entered Australia on 3 April on the same flight and subsequently stayed in adjacent rooms at the Mercure Hotel on George Street in Sydney’s CBD.
All three people, two of whom are members of the same family, tested negative on their day-two swabs in hotel quarantine, before subsequently testing positive for COVID-19 later during their quarantine periods.