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.
The mutant strain has jumped across rooms at the Mecure Hotel on George St
Three travellers have come down with the South African B1.351 Covid variant
Two of the three were family members staying in connecting rooms on 10th floor
NSW Health said the third person was staying in another adjacent room
Officials are contacting people who stayed on the same floor between April 7 - 12
NSW Health won t say if hotel quarantine staff have been vaccinated afr.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from afr.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
New South Wales has recorded three new locally acquired coronavirus cases after the virus spread between two different families staying in hotel quarantine.
Health authorities released the numbers on Sunday confirming that three people in one family got the virus from a family of four staying in an adjacent room in the Adina Apartment Hotel in Sydney s CBD.
Both families have the same viral sequence prompting all travellers staying on level 12 of the hotel to be retested. So far the remaining guests have returned a negative result.
Health authorities released the numbers on Sunday confirming that three people in one family got the virus from a family of four staying in an adjacent room in the Adina Apartment Hotel in Sydney s CBD
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New South Wales has again recorded locally acquired coronavirus cases, after the virus was transmitted in hotel quarantine.
The state s health department said three people in one family acquired the virus from a family of four staying in an adjacent room in the Adina Apartment Hotel Town Hall in Sydney s CBD.
The two families have been diagnosed with the same viral sequence.
All guests staying on the same floor have been retested and returned negative results.
Staff who worked on level 12 are in self-isolation and undergoing testing.
Investigations are continuing into how the transmission occurred.
New South Wales Health said the families arrived on different days and from different countries.