Stock Take re COVID in New South Wales (NSW), the most populous state in Australia - one year on

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Beran, Roy G
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2021
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Introduction The first case of Covid 19, in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), was reported on 25th January 2020. It was deemed appropriate to undertake a stock take review of Covid in NSW at the time of its first year anniversary. Initial Covid 19 panorama in NSW The profile of the first 200 cases has been reviewed and demonstrated that almost half the cases occurring in under 40 yr old and 2/3 of cases < 60yr old. This is at odds with the perception that Covid infection affects mainly geriatrics, namely 70+ yr old but that accounts for only 1/3 of the first 200 NSW cases. Having noted that statistic, all the deaths, 5 people, were within the geriatric bracket. Ruby Princess The management of the cruise ship Ruby Princess was a failure of public health which did not realise the number of infected people allowed to disembark prematurely without adequate tracing. This resulted in almost half the deaths in NSW throughout the pandemic but also led to much improved protocols which, more probably than not, saved many hundreds of lives. Newmarch House Nursing Home This aged care facility was the second serious cluster of cases of Covid which also led to almost half of the deaths in NSW. It also provided useful lessons that probably saved lives in similar facilities. South Western Sydney Covid Clusters There were a number of clusters in the South West of Sydney, including the Crossroads Hotel and a host of other venues which caused regional approaches to the area. Northern Beaches Cluster Towards the end of 2020 there was an outbreak of Covid affecting the Northern Beaches area resulting in hard lockdowns, restricted to that area while the rest of Sydney was slowly coming out of Covid restrictions. Hotel Quarantine Travellers to Australia, and particularly to NSW, were mandated to undergo 14 days of hotel quarantine in designated hotels. Initially this was at the tax payers' expense but later was at the expense of the traveller and subject to Covid testing. Overall Statistics As at Australia Day, 2021, a day after the anniversary of the first case of Covid 19, in Australia, the country has experiences 28777 cases of Covid infection, 25486 have recovered with 909 deaths (12). NSW encountered 5090 cases, compared with Victoria reporting 20442, and 54 deaths, compared with Victoia reporting 820 deaths (12). Contact Tracing NSW has exercised efficient and effective contact tracing in which anyone attending a venue had to record who had been present and when. This used smart phones and people attending a venue had to 'log in', using what was called a QR login. If not available, a paper trail was maintained to allow contact should there be casual contact with an active case. Conclusion NSW has an enviable track record, with no new community contracted cases of Covid in over a week. This resulted from conscientious intervention by experts and politicians and front line health care works.

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Medicine and Law

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40

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2

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Law and legal studies

Australia

Covid 19

Government & Law

Law

Managing the Pandemic

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Beran, RG, Stock Take re COVID in New South Wales (NSW), the most populous state in Australia - one year on, Medicine and Law, 2021, 40 (2), pp. 199-208

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