Diners at a wine bar are ordered to get tested for coronavirus immediately as a BWS, Coles and a cinema complex across Sydney and Melbourne are put on high alert after being exposed to COVID-19
Diners at a busy tapas and wine bar in Wollongong have been ordered to get tested for coronavirus as a string of other venues across Sydney and Melbourne are put on high alert.
Anyone who visited the Swallowed Anchor on Crown St in Wollongong on December 19 has been asked to get tested immediately and to self-isolate until further instructions.
A BWS and a Thai restaurant in Berala in Sydney's west have also been put on alert by health officials on Thursday evening.
Anyone who visited the Swallowed Anchor on Crown St in Wollongong on December 19 has been asked to get tested immediately and to self-isolate until further instructions
Meanwhile in Melbourne, four new venues have been added to the list including a Coles, a busy shopping centre and a cinema.
Anybody who had visited any of the venues at the specific times have been ordered to get tested immediately and isolate until given a negative result.
Melbourne's Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre has been put on alert after a potentially infected person visited the food court and three other stores inside.
A BWS and a Thai restaurant in Berala, in Sydney's west have also been put on alert by health officials on Thursday evening
NEW SYDNEY AND MELBOURNE VENUES ON ALERT
Wollongong: The Swallowed Anchor, 156/160 Crown St, all day on Saturday, December 19
Berala, Sydney: BWS Berala on Thursday, December 24 from 4.45pm-9.06pm; on Saturday, December 26 from 9.55am-7.04pm; and Monday, December 28 from 12.44pm-7.15pm
Berala, Sydney: Pure Thai Berala on Saturday, December 26 from 2pm-4pm and Monday, December 28 from 2pm-4pm
Smithfield, Sydney: Bunnings Smithfield, on Tuesday, December 29 from 1.15pm-1.35pm
Smithfield, Sydney: TFO, Tile Factory Outlet, 107 Warren Rd on Tuesday, December 29 from 1.30pm-3.30pm
Melbourne: Glen Waverley Village Cinemas Century City, from 2.45pm-5.30pm on December 28.
Melbourne: Melissa Oakleigh Restaurant, 5 Eaton Mall, Oakleigh. 7.30pm-8.15pm on December 28.
Melbourne: Coles Hallam, 2 Princes Domain Drive, Hallam. 6.15pm-6.30pm on December 30.
Melbourne Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre, on December 28 from 12pm-2pm. Food court from 12.10pm-12.40pm; TKMaxx from 12.50pm-1.05pm; Target from 1.10pm-1.30pm; 13.40hrs Woolworths from 1.40pm-1.55pm
The new venues come at a worrying time for health officials after cases in Melbourne grew to eight on Thursday, and NSW recorded ten more infections.
Victoria will now shut its borders to the whole of NSW from 11.59pm on Friday.
Anyone entering by road will be turned around and anyone entering by air will be forced into 14-day hotel quarantine unless they have an exemption.
The move will leave tens of thousands of Victorians shut out of their own state unless they race home tonight or on New Year's Day.
Three cases recorded in Victoria identified on Wednesday night visited Melbourne's Smile Buffalo Thai in Black Rock on December 21 at the same time as a Victorian who had returned from Sydney where there is an ongoing outbreak.
Three close contacts tested positive on Thursday morning and a further two close contacts were diagnosed on Thursday afternoon.
There are about 70 close contacts in isolation across Melbourne.
Melbourne's Forest Hill Chase Shopping Centre has been put on alert after a potentially infected person visited the food court and three other stores inside
The BWS in Berala in Sydney has also been put on alert for anybody who visited the store on December 24 from 4.45pm-9.06pm; on Saturday, December 26 from 9.55am-7.04pm; and Monday, December 28 from 12.44pm-7.15pm
Meanwhile in NSW out of the ten new cases, five were directly linked to the Avalon cluster, three were members of the Croydon cluster and one was linked to a transport worker who drove hotel quarantine patients.
A tenth case, from Western Sydney, is under investigation but Gladys Berejiklian said there's a chance it's an old case or a false positive.
There were 27,894 tests reported to 8pm on Thursday night, up from the previous day's total of 17,267.
The Avalon cluster now includes 144 patients and the Croydon cluster now has nine. Officials are still baffled about the source of both clusters.