EXCLUSIVE: Chaos as top Sydney oncology ward suffers a major Covid-19 outbreak with multiple cancer patients and staff testing positive
Health authorities are scrambling to stop an outbreak of Covid-19 inside an oncology ward at a Sydney hospital after three cancer patients and two fully-vaccinated hospital workers tested positive.
Staff at St George Hospital in Kogarah, in the city's south, were put on alert on Friday after five new cases were confirmed.
Two of the three patients battling cancer had one jab and the other was unvaccinated.
New South Wales had a record 478 new cases of the virus on Monday amid Sydney's latest outbreak, which is largely concentrated around south-west parts of the city.
Three cancer patients and to fully-vaccinated staff members at St George Hospital in Sydney's south tested positive to Covid-19
New South Wales had a record 478 new Covid-19 cases on Monday, with eight deaths. Pictured: Woman in Bondi during lockdown on Monday
Covid-19 is particularly dangerous for people in the oncology ward because cancer treatments suppress the immune system, which means they cannot fight illness of any kind.
A South Eastern Sydney Local Health District spokeswoman told told Daily Mail Australia that all patients in the ward were being treated as close contacts.
Infection control procedures have been implemented to stop the virus from spreading.
'The hospital is contacting patients who were on those wards at the same time that other patients may have been infectious and asking them to get tested and isolate,' the spokeswoman said.
'Staff working on those wards are also being contacted and assessed.'
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 61 people were in the community while infectious with Covid-19
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced eight new Covid-19 deaths in New South Wales on Monday.
Seven of the fatalities include four people in their 80s, two in their 70s and one in their 40s from Sydney's south-west, west, inner-west and northern suburbs.
Two had received their first Covid-19 jab and the rest were unvaccinated.
An eighth Covid-related death, which will be recorded in Tuesday's numbers, was 15-year-old Osama Suduh from south-west Sydney who died in hospital after contracting pneumococcal meningitis.
Pictured: Australian Defence Force personnel and NSW police are seen being deployed from Bankstown Police Station, in Sydney's south-west, on August 16
NSW Health said 61 cases were contagious in the community and the isolation status of 290 is still under investigation.
That means a staggering 351 cases could have been actively spreading the virus while they were infectious.
Only 141 of the new infections are linked to known clusters and 337 cases are still under investigation.
From Monday, thousands of NSW police officers will enforce toughened coronavrius restrictions - which includes a ban on Sydneysiders travelling more than 5km from their homes.
Officers from this week can also impose fines up to $5,000 for breaching public health orders.