Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was ânot surprising whatsoeverâ that the stateâs 55-day run without a local case had come to an end.
âThe fact that we went 55 days straight without a case is almost miraculous,â she said, adding that she was grateful to everyone working in hotel quarantine to bring thousands of people home to Australia each week.
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The 47-year-oldâs infection had been genomically linked to a returned traveller who stayed on the 11th floor of the Sofitel before being transferred to a health hotel, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.
Dr Chant said the man, who worked at the hotels on weekends, had completed a shift on this floor while the traveller was staying, but there was no indication the traveller had opened his door or the security guard had come within 1.5 metres of the door.
“I would never want to stop a security guard from attending their child’s school . people have lives outside of their jobs,” she said.
The quarantine guard had received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, but health authorities did not expect it to confer protection so soon after his shot. Dr Chant said the man’s blood was tested on Sunday and there was evidence that he had “some response” to the vaccine.
“We can’t be absolutely certain they can’t be infected [after they have had the vaccine] but what we would suspect is that they may be less likely to pass it on because their viral load might be lower,” Dr Chant said.
Highly contagious COVID-19 variants are on the rise in hotel quarantine, as authorities investigate how a security guard caught the “UK strain” from a returned traveller.
No new COVID-19 cases in NSW as vaccination shots on target theage.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theage.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.