News by Janet Fife-Yeomans & Nick Hansen 18th Dec 2020 6:45 AM
Premium Content Avalon was a ghost town yesterday, with shops and cafes closed, Woolies almost deserted and even the local post office shut down as terrified locals of the northern beaches suburb either stayed home or joined the long queues for COVID testing. The usually laid-back surfing mecca was suddenly a seething mass of fear, anger and frustration as it got ready to say goodbye to Christmas. A surfer looks on as residents line up at Mona Vale Hospital for a COVID-19 test on Thursday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Jeremy Piper In the close-knit community almost everyone knows someone who was at the Avalon RSL on Sunday night dancing to the band called Nothing Too Serious, whose drummer tested positive on Thursday to the virus, along with an elderly couple who had hit the dancefloor.
COVID Victoria updates: NSW coronavirus cases rise to five heraldsun.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from heraldsun.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Newport Beach, one of Sydney s Northern Beaches.
Photo: 123RF
Authorities believe all the cases are linked and have urged all residents within the Northern Beaches local government area to stay at home.
Residents have been advised to work from home, keep to their household group and avoid all unnecessary gatherings. Do not visit friends or relatives in aged care facilities or hospitals unless [it is] essential, a NSW Health statement said. Avoid visiting high-risk venues including clubs, restaurants, places of worship and gyms.
Residents have also been urged to avoid unnecessary travel outside their area, while those in other locations have been told to avoid travel into the Northern Beaches.
Share on Twitter
The coronavirus cluster in Sydney s Northern Beaches has jumped to 17 new infections, prompting health authorities to ask residents in the area to temporarily stay home.
NSW Health on Thursday evening confirmed 17 COVID-19 cases have now been identified in the area, including those diagnosed on Wednesday and Thursday.
Earlier in the day, authorities put the number of virus cases linked to the cluster at five. As a number of new cases are currently being interviewed, it is likely that a number of new venues will be identified and that people in the Northern Beaches may have attended these venues, it said.
Five New COVID-19 Cases in NSW Spark Alarm
NSW Health is scrambling to contain the impact of five new locally acquired COVID-19 cases as concerns are raised about the nation’s borders just a week before Christmas.
The state broke its 12-day streak without locally acquired coronavirus cases on Dec. 16, after a Sydney airport driver was confirmed to have the virus and two mystery cases popped up on the northern beaches.
Seven venues on the northern beaches peninsula have been identified as places recently visited by an infected man and woman. People are queuing up at Mona Vale Hospital on Thursday to get tested for the virus. Since then two more cases were confirmed.