ABC Health Sydney Airport screening enhanced after NZ COVID scare

Passenger screening protocols at Sydney Airport have been enhanced, after a probable case of COVID-19 was identified in New Zealand.

Health authorities in New Zealand are investigating a positive test result in a person who recently travelled from overseas and completed their 14 days of isolation in a facility in Auckland, before later developing symptoms.

People from New Zealand are able to travel to NSW without having to quarantine.

New Zealand’s Ministry of Health said the woman had travelled to Spain and the Netherlands before arriving in the country.

It was investigating whether she caught the virus from another returned traveller in quarantine.

Anyone who arrived in NSW from New Zealand between January 14 and yesterday have been asked to check a list of affected venues in Auckland and follow the associated health advice.

The increased screening comes as no locally acquired coronavirus infections were found in NSW for an eighth consecutive day.

A total of 8,689 people were tested in the 24 hours to 8.00pm yesterday, down from 11,344 the day before.

NSW Health’s Jeremy McAnulty says “low testing numbers remain a concern”.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told ABC News Breakfast this morning he was “feeling positive” about an easing of restrictions in the near future.

“We have another meeting this week where we will be looking at it,” he said.

“[Chief health officer] Kerry Chant and her team … will give us advice, but normally the epidemiologist like 14 days of clear air before the last cases.”

Today also marks one year since the first four coronavirus cases were discovered in Australia.

Reflecting on a year of managing the virus — including the Ruby Princess fiasco which resulted in 28 deaths — Mr Hazzard said state health authorities had already implemented the lessons learnt from their failures.

“We haven’t had a pandemic for 100 years, so this has been a year of learnings for everybody and I think the public health physicians have worked enormously hard,” he said.

Although he was optimistic about the State Government’s management of the virus, he said the main takeaway from the year has been to never become complacent.

“Until we get the vaccine, it’s important we look after ourselves,” he said.