Mystery remains over Covid patient zero of Sydney cluster
Mystery continues to surround who is patient zero of a coronavirus outbreak in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, which has led to nationwide border closures ahead of Christmas.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed on Sunday the Covid-19 cluster, in the suburb of Avalon, had grown by 28 with two other cases under investigation.
Those two people are residents of the Northern Beaches.
The original source of the infection, which has led to the Northern Beaches being placed under lockdown and Victoria closing its borders to Greater Sydney, is yet to be found.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it was likely it came from an overseas traveller who arrived on December 1.
“The only missing link here at the moment is who was the original source of that overseas virus,” he said.
“We have spoken about this before, there was one passenger who came in on December 1, and because of the incredible capacity of our pathology and tracing teams we know that the genomic sequencing has indicated that that person had a genomic sequence very close to the cases that were occurring in Avalon.”
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Acting Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said genomic sequencing research had shown it’s likely the person came from the US.
He said they then went into hotel quarantine, but authorities didn’t know how that strain made it to Avalon.
What is known about patient zero of Northern Beaches cluster
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant conceded finding patient zero could be “a challenge beyond us”.
Dr Chant added she was unaware of anyone given a travel exemption who had tested positive for Covid-19.
“What we know is that this sequence from this strain that is associated with this cluster is most closely linked to a returned traveller from overseas who arrived in country on 1 December,” she said.
“Obviously we are testing all of the returning travellers from overseas and we are accessing international databases to get some idea.
“But you can imagine some countries like the US, gene sequencing isn’t their priority given the number of cases they have.
“There is an intensive investigation under way and while I really do want to find the source, it may be that this is going to be a challenge beyond us. But we are doing everything we can.”
Dr Chant said the outbreak in Avalon wasn’t related to the first case to appear on the Northern Beaches.
“At the moment we are obviously looking for cases that have the earliest symptom onset, because that means they are probably the first cases,” she said.
“There are often challenges with that because there are variable incubation periods.”
Authorities are following 10 to 20 lines of inquiry, Dr Chant said.
“There is no one who wants to get to the bottom of this more than myself because if I understand the clear chains of transmission I can then better informed government about the risk,” she said.
“The problem we have at the moment is that I do not know how we got there so I do not know the person nor where that person has been.”
Dr Chant played down any suggestions the cluster started from a “wealthy” Northern Beaches couple.
One reporter asked Mr Hazzard if some people either “wealthy” or who have friends in high places might be getting around exemptions to which he called “silly”.
“Of course that is not the case,” he said.
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