It has been another upsetting day for the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) with three residents of aged care facilities in Dubbo infected with COVID-19 passing away in the past 24 hours.

Two of the deaths were women, one in her 80s from the Holy Spirit aged care facility and the other in her 90s from the St Mary’s Villa aged care facility, who were both fully-vaccinated. 

The other was a man in his 80s from St Mary's Villa who was partially-vaccinated. Both of these facilities have identified several positive cases amongst residents and staff in the past few weeks.

WNSWLHD Chief Executive Scott McLachlan said this took the total number of deaths in the region during the current outbreak to seven and were concerned about the number of patients still in hospital

"It's a really timely reminder that COVID doesn't discriminate where it travels or between age and gender - it doesn't know the boundaries of local government areas, households, shopping centres or the places we visit every day of the week," Mr McLachlan said.

"I know we're all sick of this, but some people are getting very sick and we're seeing the terrible outcomes of that at the moment."

New infections continue to spread across the region

Up to 8pm last night were 15 new cases of COVID-19 identified in the WNSWLHD, two of which from the Western Plains area with one each recorded in Bourke and Narromine.

Mr McLachlan flagged the Narromine case was being retested and may end up being a false-positive.

The remaining cases were from Bathurst (one), Wellington (three), Dubbo (seven), Blayney (one) and Orange (one). This takes the cumulative total of cases in WNSWLHD to 1039. Three cases had been infectious in their communities.

The Blayney LGA had exited lockdown yesterday alongside several others, though authorities confirmed the case had been deemed very low risk to the community and would not result in stay-at-home orders being re-introduced.

Mr McLachlan said a number of additional cases had also been identified overnight, meaning numbers were likely to rise in the coming days.

NSW venues of concern continue to be updated as investigations from WNSWLHD teams continue, including at least one new casual case location in Walgett.

The full list of venues of concern across the region can be found on the NSW Health website.

Testing numbers continue to drop as surveillance testing program extended to new areas

Across the district, a total of around 1900 tests were conducted yesterday, more than half of which were in Dubbo, which authorities said was very concerning.

To try and identify the cases they suspected they were missing in areas where there had been signs of the virus but no cases identified so far, the WNSWLHD has also expanded its new surveillance testing program.

Under this program, those who aren’t considered close contacts, or who don’t have any symptoms themselves or in anyone else in their household are not required to self-isolate until they get their results.

Areas that are currently conducting surveillance testing across the district include Walgett, Trangie, Lightning Ridge, Bourke and Brewarrina.

Mr McLachlan said they will also be beginning surveillance testing in Nyngan, based on recent positive sewerage testing in the area.

The Bogan shire was one of several that exited lockdown yesterday afternoon and Mr McLachlan said this would not be reversed unless a positive case was confirmed, making the surveillance testing this weekend all the more crucial.

An updated list of other pop-up testing locations across the WNSWLHD can be found here. (https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/covid-19-information).

Localised active and recovered cases released

Mr McLachlan also provided an update on the currently active case numbers being cared for in their homes across the health district as well as the total number of recoveries in those areas.

He said in the last two weeks, 445 people have been discharged from the care in the community program, including 56 in Bourke, 10 in Narromine and quite a few others in the smaller rural communities in the region.

Of 340 people currently being cared for in their community, 32 were in Bourke, nine in Narromine, one in Warrumbungle and 18 in Walgett shires.

Plenty of vaccination opportunities

The ADF vaccination clinics continue to roll out across the Western Plains, with the second dose clinics - by appointment only - arriving in Trangie on Saturday 18 September, and Narromine on Sunday 19 September, among others.

The Loxley Health pop-up vaccination clinic has also returned to the Coonamble shire and is delivering first and second doses of the Pfizer vaccine in Coonamble until Sunday 19 September before moving on to Gulargambone on Monday 20 September.

A list of past, current and future pop-up vaccination clinics throughout the WNSWLHD, including the current schedule for second dose clinics can be found here. (https://wnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/covid-19-information/covid-19-vaccination)

The AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are also available at local GPs, Aboriginal Health Services and respiratory clinics.

Participating pharmacies can also provide the vaccine and will start receiving supplies of the new Moderna vaccine from next week.

For all the latest information about COVID-19 across NSW, including several handy links, be sure to check out our in-app COVID-19 button.