COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney sees CBD gym and three schools shut

• Sydney continues to battle a second-wave of COVID-19 infections, with six new cases recorded in the last day
• Of those cases, only one is linked to hotel quarantine, while the rest were out in the community
• A gym in the Sydney CBD has had to close as well after two confirmed COVID-19 cases attended the premises
• While three schools across the metro area have closed amid concerns their students may have the virus
• In neighbouring Queensland, one new case of COVID-19 was recorded, while Victoria recorded an additional 149 cases

Sydney is on high alert after five new cases of COVID-19 were recorded in the community prompting the closure of schools and a gym.

New cases

A total of six cases were recorded in the last day, but only one of those new cases is linked to travel.

The other five cases were all locally acquired, including a man and woman in their 40s who are household contacts of each other, as well as a man in his 60s, a woman in her 50s and a woman in her 30s.

Of the locally acquired cases:
• two, a man and woman in their 40s from Western Sydney, are household contacts of each other
• two unrelated cases, a man in his 60s and a woman in her 50s are from South Eastern Sydney
• One is a woman in her 30s from Sydney

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 26, 2020

NSW Health said all of the new cases have been ordered to stay-at-home, while contact tracing is underway to determine if anyone else was infected.

Venues closed

Meantime, several inner-city venues have been linked to recent COVID-19 cases, including Broadway Shopping Centre in Ultimo.

Officials said any customers who visited the Apple or Kmart stores at Broadway on August 22, between 3:30 pm and 5:00 pm should assess themselves for symptoms.

A gym has also had to be closed after two confirmed COVID-19 cases attended the City Tattersalls Fitness Centre on Pitt Street. Anyone who visited the fitness centre on August 19, 21, or 23, should again assess themselves for symptoms.

Finally, three schools across Sydney have shut after several students were suspected of having contracted COVID-19. These include Riverstone High School in Riverstone, Wyndham College in Quakers Hills and Schofields Public School in Schofields.

All of the students are being tested and even re-tested for the virus, while the schools have been closed pending extra cleaning.

Victoria & Queensland

In the neighbouring states of Queensland and Victoria, the situation differs, with Brisbane recording one new case of COVID-19 while Melbourne recorded an additional 149 cases.

The new case in Queensland is linked to an outbreak in a youth detention centre. Officials said the person infected had already been quarantining when they tested positive.

In Victoria, today’s case numbers were slightly up on yesterday’s total. But overall, there has been a downward trend of new infections in the state as wide-ranging lockdown restrictions work to stop the spread of the virus.

However, despite the downward trend of new cases, the number of deaths related to COVID-19 continues to mount — with 24 new deaths recorded in Victoria today.

In total, over 25,000 cases of the potentially deadly virus have been recorded in Australia since the pandemic began.