9am Tuesday:
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The new Raymond Terrace drive-through COVID testing clinic was bumper-to-bumper shortly after it opened at 8am on Tuesday.
Huge demand for testing and six new cases in the region on Monday, one from Medowie to take the Port's confirmed cases to two, plus lobbying from state MP Kate Washington prompted the state government to open a third testing clinic in Port Stephens.
Histopath Pathology will operate the drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic at Lakeside Leisure Centre from 8am to 6pm Monday to Sunday.
It will be in addition to Laverty Pathology's drive-through testing clinic at Tomaree Sports Complex in Nelson Bay, which has had its hours of operation extended, and the Raymond Terrace Respiratory Clinic.
Demand for testing across the Hunter was expected to increase on Tuesday due to the ongoing COVID outbreak and the closure of the University of Newcastle's clinic to providing testing for 800 university students "who have recently been impacted by the COVID-19 exposure in the campus student accommodation", Hunter New England Health stated on Monday.
Aldi Raymond Terrace, Coles Medowie and the Metro Petrol Station in Lavis Lane, Williamtown remain venues of concern and anyone who visited the locations during the times below are considered a casual contact and are to self-isolate and get tested:
- Aldi Raymond Terrace Thursday, August 5 between 4:05pm and 4:30pm
- Coles Medowie Wednesday, August 4 between 6:15pm and 6:45pm
- Metro Petrol Station Williamtown Friday, August 6 between 11am and 11:20am
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EARLIER, 4pm Monday:
The Department of Defence is working with health authorities to track down the source of a COVID-19 case on the Williamtown RAAF Base.
It is believed a person working in the No. 2 Operational Conversion Unit, which teaches fighter pilot skills, tested positive last week.
"A comprehensive public health response is now underway under the direction of NSW Health," a Department of Defence spokeswoman told Australian Community Media on Sunday.
"RAAF Base Williamtown was already subject to the Hunter Region stay at home orders and all appropriate measures are being taken in accordance with NSW Health requirements"
About 3700 military and civilian personnel and up to 500 contractors work at the base in a variety of capacities.
Operations at the adjoining Newcastle Airport have been unaffected by the outbreak, however, some surrounding businesses have shut down.
BAE Systems Williamtown, which interacts with the base for the maintenance of aircraft, took the precautionary step of closing on Sunday to allow contact tracing to proceed as effectively as possible.
EARLIER, 12pm Monday:
Hunter New England Health has confirmed that a second Port Stephens resident has tested positive for COVID-19.
A Medowie man in his 40s is one of six new positive COVID-19 cases announced by the health authority on Monday morning, taking the Hunter's total number of cases in the current outbreak to 26.
"The source of this infection is still being investigated," HNEH stated.
It is the second positive case for Port Stephens following the news on Sunday that a Raymond Terrace man aged in his 30s had contracted COVID-19.
The source of the Raymond Terrace man's infection is also being investigated.
NSW Health has advised that anyone who added Aldi Raymond Terrace, Coles Medowie and the Metro Petrol Station in Lavis Lane, Williamtown during the below dates and times are to get tested immediately and self-isolate until receiving a negative result:
- Aldi Raymond Terrace Thursday, August 5 between 4:05pm and 4:30pm
- Coles Medowie Wednesday, August 4 between 6:15pm and 6:45pm
- Metro Petrol Station Williamtown Friday, August 6 between 11am and 11:20am
EARLIER, 9am Monday:
A Raymond Terrace man in his 30s has tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, coming as three Port Stephens venues were added to the Hunter's growing list of exposure sites.
NSW Health confirmed the positive Port Stephens case on Sunday, stating that "investigations into the source of his infection are still ongoing".
Hunter New England Health is now supporting 20 confirmed COVID cases in the current outbreak, since the region lockdown was announced on Thursday, August 5.
NSW Health has added Aldi Raymond Terrace, Coles Medowie and the Metro Petrol Station in Lavis Lane, Williamtown to its list of exposure sites.
The advice for anyone who attended the following venues is to get tested immediately and to self-isolate until you get a negative result.
- Aldi Raymond Terrace Thursday, August 5 between 4:05pm and 4:30pm
- Coles Medowie Wednesday, August 4 between 6:15pm and 6:45pm
- Metro Petrol Station Williamtown Friday, August 6 between 11am and 11:20am
NSW Health said on Sunday that Big W Raymond Terrace was not a "venue of concern" following an investigation into information that a delivery driver who tested positive for COVID-19 had visited the store between 10.15am and 10.45am on Wednesday, August 4.
"Following a review of CCTV footage, some individual staff members are considered casual contacts and have been contacted with testing and isolation advice. The venue was not listed as an exposure site as it is not a risk to the wider community," NSW Health said.
Guzman Y Gomez at Heatherbrae shut its doors for cleaning on Saturday after a worker allegedly tested positive for the virus. However, the store is not listed as an exposure site on NSW Health's website.
To meet the demand in testing, Laverty Pathology has extended the hours of the Nelson Bay drive-through clinic and NSW Health will open an additional clinic in Raymond Terrace on Tuesday, August 10.
The Nelson Bay COVID-19 testing clinic, located at Tomaree Sports Complex, will ben open 7.30am-4pm Monday to Friday and 7.30am-3pm on Saturday.
The new Raymond Terrace drive through testing clinic, to be operated by Histopath, will open on August 10 at Lakeside Sports Complex. It will be open seven days from 8am to 6pm. Testing is free and no appointments or referrals are needed.
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