Bondi Woolworths store's concerning 7-day Covid alert
Woolworths has announced several staff members were infectious with Covid-19 in the Bondi Junction store for more than a week the same day thousands appeared to ignore the Public Health Order by flocking to nearby beaches.
Images of a packed Bondi beach has prompted widespread anger online, particularly from those in other areas of locked down Sydney, with many lambasting those out and about on a day NSW reported its highest daily case total of the pandemic.
As beachgoers soaked up the sun, the Woolworths Group announced in an update the workers had been in store potentially infectious from September 1 through to September 8.
"The wellbeing of our customers, team and communities is our highest priority, and in line with public health advice, we are taking all necessary steps to ensure ongoing safety in our stores," they said in a statement.
According to Woolworths, the employees worked during the following times:
September 8 - from 4:26pm to 11:55pm
September 7 - from 3:36pm to 12:00am
September 7 - from 7:56pm to 2:59am
September 6 - from 7:55pm to 3:00am
September 6 - from 3:29pm to 11:59pm
September 5 - from 7:56pm to 4:01am
September 5 - from 3:26pm to 11:59pm
September 3 - from 5:00pm to 10:15pm
September 2 - from 8:57am to 2:06pm
September 1 - from 8:57am to 2:03pm
September 1 - from 12:00pm to 9:00pm
The supermarket is not currently listed on the NSW Health exposure site list and it is unclear whether shoppers at those times would have been casual or close contacts or neither. Woolworths instructs shoppers to visit the department's website for updates.
NSW Health told Yahoo News Australia the exposure list will be updated in due course.
The store is roughly two kilometres from the beach, which is accessible to Bondi Junction residents under the current five kilometre restriction.
The store is in the same Westfield shopping centre where transmission of the virus occurred in the early stages of Sydney's Delta outbreak.
'Beggars belief': Social media reacts to announcement
The news of infectious workers at the Bondi Junction store prompted a strong reaction online, many predicting a surge in cases in the area on a day many appeared to abandon social distancing, mask wearing while many were pictured in groups of more than two.
"Great... of course, Bondi and Coogee beaches are packed today," one person wrote on Twitter.
"Those mingling in the Eastern Suburbs are dreaming," another said.
"It's just beggars belief," one person wrote.
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