NSW Health has called on people living in the Hawkesbury and South Western Sydney areas to be tested for the COVID-19 virus after a sewage surveillance program detected traces of the virus at two treatment plants.
Acting Executive Director of Health Protection NSW, Richard Broome said NSW Health had been working with Sydney Water since July, analysing wastewater samples to detect the virus in the community.
“Fragments of the SARS CoV-2 virus have been found at sewage treatment plants at North Richmond in the Hawkesbury, and West Camden in South Western Sydney,” Dr Broome said.
“We’re calling on people in these catchments to come forward for testing with even the mildest of symptoms such as a runny nose or scratchy throat.”
He said that finding traces of the virus in sewage samples could mean there were active cases nearby.
“It can also mean there are recently recovered cases, as people who have previously been infected can continue to ‘shed’ virus fragments into the sewage system for up to four weeks after they have recovered,” he said.
“There is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transmitted through wastewater, with studies showing the virus is deactivated by the treatment process.”
Dr Broome said the most recent cases in the West Camden catchment were reported in September, but no-one living in the North Richmond catchment had tested positive recently.
“We have now gone 11 days without detecting a locally transmitted case of COVID-19 in NSW, but this is not the time to become complacent,” he said.
“It’s vital that we all continue to maintain social distancing and keep up good hand hygiene, and that anyone who is feeling unwell isolates and gets tested without delay.”
He said testing clinics near West Camden were at Camden Hospital and the Narellan Community Health Centre and near North Richmond at the Sydney International Regatta Centre and a drive-through clinic at Club Paceway.
“Or people can visit their GP,” he said.
