Urgent contact tracing is underway after NSW Health revealed “a person who works at two Sydney hotels which provide hotel quarantine for returned travellers” returned a positive infection result.Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday confirmed the NSW hotel worker who contracted COVID-19 was vaccinated before testing positive to the virus.Mr Morrison confirmed the revelation after receiving a second Pfizer dose himself on Sunday, but played down fears. “The individual in this case was vaccinated. But this is important point: the vaccination is not immediate,” he told reporters on Sunday.“It does take a while. Once you vaccinated, you still have to try to observe COVID-safe behaviours.“I‘m wearing a mask today (but) I’ve had two vaccines. And it’s important that we continue that.” Chief medical officer Paul Kelly, who also received his second Pfizer dose on Sunday, said more details would be announced by NSW health authorities.“I think it’s very important that we know that this is not a silver bullet that’s going to fix everything right away,” he said.NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard will address media at 1pm in Sydney over the major development.Dr Stephen Conaty, director of population health at NSW Health, said contact tracers had launched an urgent investigation.NSW Health were notified last night of a new case of COVID-19 in a person who works at two Sydney hotels which provide hotel quarantine for returned travellers,” Dr Conaty said.“The source of the new infection is under investigation and urgent genome sequencing is underway.“Testing of close contacts is also urgently underway.”In a tweet NSW Health urged people to get tested if they had symptoms.“It is critical that everyone continues to practise COVID-safe behaviours and that people come forward for testing if they have even the mildest of symptoms,” NSW Health officials tweeted.“NSW Health is treating 51 COVID-19 cases, none of whom are in intensive care.”Three cases of COVID-19 were recorded in overseas travellers.There were 9269 tests reported to 8pm Saturday night, compared with the previous day’s total of 9994.NSW has not recorded a positive case of COVID-19 since January 17, when six cases were registered and linked to a western Sydney man who tested on January 16. Five of the cases were household contacts of the man.Prior to Christmas, Sydney experience multiple outbreaks which began in the northern beaches. That region was plunged into lockdown for three weeks after an outbreak that originated at Avalon. Outbreaks were then recorded at Berala, in Sydney’s north, as well as Croydon in the inner west.The positive case in NSW on Sunday comes after Queensland recorded a positive case of the virus on Friday.A doctor tested positive to COVID-19 on Friday afternoon after assessing two coronavirus patients known to have the UK variant at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital.Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it was unknown if the doctor had the UK strain, believed to be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than other strains of COVID-19.More to come.
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