NSW Health has confirmed a sixth traveller has been infected with the Omicron strain of COVID-19.
The fully vaccinated traveller, who recently visited southern Africa, arrived on flight QR908 from Doha to Sydney on November 25 and tested positive to COVID-19 yesterday.
NSW Health says the person is currently in isolation in Sydney.
“Everyone on the flight has already been deemed a close contact and has been instructed to get tested immediately for COVID-19 and isolate for 14 days, regardless of their vaccination status,” the health authority said in a statement today.
“NSW Health is contacting all passengers and flight crew to advise them of their isolation requirements. They can also call NSW Health on 1800 943 553 for further advice.
“At this point in the investigation, NSW Health is aware of at least six people on this flight who had been in southern Africa in the previous 14 days.”
Despite the growing number of confirmed Omicron cases, NSW Health says there is currently no evidence that transmission occurred on the flight.
“However, investigations into the five COVID-19 positive passengers on the flight, which includes two confirmed cases with the Omicron variant, are ongoing,” it said.
NSW Health advises the following venue was visited by the sixth Omicron case:
| ​Venue | ​Location | ​Address | ​Date/Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool | Chemist Warehouse, The Grove | Units 3 – 6, 18 Orange Grove Road | Monday 29 November8:10pm – 8:15pm |
Anyone who attended the venue at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received. You should continue to monitor for symptoms and if any symptoms occur, get tested again.
“Please get tested even if you have had a test in recent days. If your test result is negative, please continue to monitor for symptoms and if any symptoms appear, get tested and isolate again.”
“NSW Health can also advise genomic testing on another case, who arrived on the same flight and is isolating in Broken Hill, has confirmed they were infected with the Delta variant.”
In line with Commonwealth measures, all travellers arriving in NSW who have been in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini and Malawi during the 14-day period before their arrival in NSW must enter hotel quarantine for 14 days, irrespective of their vaccination status.
All fully vaccinated travellers who have been in any other overseas country during the 14-day period before their arrival in NSW must travel directly to their place of residence or accommodation and isolate for 72 hours. They will only be able to exit isolation at the end of the 72-hour period if they have received a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken after arrival in NSW. These people must also complete a PCR test on day six after arrival.
Any passengers aged 18 years and over who are not fully vaccinated go directly into 14-day mandatory hotel quarantine.
Anyone who has already arrived in NSW who has been in any of the eight African countries within the previous 14 days must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, and call NSW Health on 1800 943 553.
Penalties for non-compliance with the isolation, testing and quarantine requirements have increased to $5,000 for individuals (from $1,000), and $10,000 for corporations (from $5,000).
