There have been an additional 21 cases of COVID-19 in the Western NSW Local Health District and a child is in hospital, in an escalation that's causing grave concerns amongst the state's leaders and health authorities.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The total number of confirmed cases in Dubbo is now 59, and 63 across Western NSW including four in Walgett.
Two cases were confirmed in Mudgee on Saturday night, which are additional to the official case numbers.
Western NSW LHD Chief Executive Scott McLachlan said the "vast majority" of cases had been infectious in the community and, as a result, cases of community transmission would likely increase in the coming days.
"This is time for us all to stop and stay," Mr McLachlan said.
This is a situation which will continue to grow ... those numbers will continue to increase in the next 24 hours again.
- Western NSW LHD Chief Executive Scott McLachlan
"Don't move anywhere, there are people infectious in our community in Dubbo, and in Western NSW.
"The only way that COVID is spreading is in human-to-human contact, the more contact you have, the more at risk you are, the more at risk we all are. Please, this is time to stay at home.
"This is a situation which will continue to grow ... those numbers will continue to increase in the next 24 hours again."
No further information was provided on the child admitted to hospital for privacy reasons.
The concerning trend of transmission among school-aged children continues, with the Department of Education revealing a student at Dubbo College Delroy Campus has tested positive, and the school will be closed on Monday for cleaning.
An additional four students and staff members from Dubbo College South Campus have tested positive, forcing the school to close until at least August 26.
Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said while schools remain open for the children of essential workers, he is urging people to resume learning from home.
"We are asking you, if at all possible to keep doing the learning from home as much as you possibly can," Mr Saunders said.
"Ninety-eight per cent of students on Friday did exactly that...we had 18 per cent of teachers in the Dubbo cluster at work."
Bunninyong Public School, Dubbo School of Distance Education and Orana Heights remain closed, while Macquarie Anglican Grammar and Dubbo West Public schools will reopen on Monday, after undergoing rigorous cleaning.
Additional 'causal contact venues', meaning you must immediately get tested and isolate until you receive a negative result, are listed on the NSW Health website.
Dubbo residents are responding to calls to get tested. On Saturday there were 4,600 tests done in Dubbo and more than 7,500 in Western NSW.
Virus fragments were detected in sewage samples taken from Bourke and Parkes on Friday August 13, Walgett on Thursday August 12, Bathurst, Parkes and Dubbo on Wednesday August 11, and Bourke on Tuesday August 10. For more information on the NSW Sewage Surveillance Program.
This article has been made free to all readers but we depend on subscription revenue to support our journalism. If you are able, please subscribe here. If you are already a subscriber, thank you for your support.