22 July 2020

UPDATED: Club Malua the latest business to close its doors as COVID-19 fear spreads

| Kim Treasure
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UPDATE: Club Malua has closed its doors after learning a person who tested positive to COVID-19 visited there earlier this month.

The dates in question were Tuesday 7 July, Wednesday 8 July and Sunday 12 July.
“This being the case, Cabra Bowls Group have made the decision to close the club and the bowling greens effective immediately,” a spokesperson said. “A deep clean of the premises will be outsourced to a certified cleaning company at the very earliest availability.”
The club will remain closed for a period of 14 days per the recommended guidelines. All staff and patrons who visited the club on these days have had their contact details provided to NSW Health.
“We are very committed to the safety of our staff, customers, and wider community and will continue to operate under the advice which NSW Health has provided to us,” the spokesperson said. “NSW Health has advised those with symptoms to get tested and stay home.
“Malua Bay has shown in the past that in times of adversity we band together, stay safe and look out for each other. We aim to have our club open again on 6 August.”
Meanwhile, ACT Health has confirmed more than 130 Canberrans are currently in isolation after attending the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on Monday 13 July, Wednesday 15 July, Thursday 16 July or Friday 17 July. So far eight people have been identified as being infected in that cluster.

TUESDAY: Businesses in Batemans Bay and Mogo have closed their doors and hundreds of residents have been lining up for testing as fears of a COVID-19 outbreak spread. One of the first to make the announcement was The Mogo Lolly Shop, followed by Grumpy and Sweetheart’s, JJ’s at the Marina and more.

“We, alongside many other businesses, have decided that it is in the best interests of ourselves and staff and our customers to self-isolate,” a spokesperson for the Mogo Lolly Shop wrote on social media.

“We thank everyone who visited the South Coast to show their support.

“At this time we wanted to remind you that there are still people living in caravans and tents and sheds who have lost their homes right along the South Coast in the New Year’s Eve bushfires. These folks have endured so much this past seven months.

“As a business owner, the government really gave us no choice but to reopen our business knowing full well that our area would be at its absolute most vulnerable.”

Mogo Lolly Shop Theresa Matthews

Theresa Matthews from the Mogo Lolly Shop is closing “in the best interests of ourselves and staff and our customers to self-isolate”. Photo: File.

As of this morning (21 July), widespread testing has revealed no new cases of COVID-19 in the Southern NSW Local Health District. Currently, 58 confirmed cases are attributed to the district.

The Batemans Bay cluster stands at eight people, with only one a local resident.

Health authorities are continuing to ask all patrons and staff who were at the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on Monday 13 July, Wednesday 15 July, Thursday 16 July and Friday 17 July, to immediately be tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of symptoms.

READ MORE Numbers in lockdown expected to rise

The Hanging Rock COVID-19 pop-up clinic will be open daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm until further notice. Extra staff and assessment stations will be on hand to deal with the increased testing demand, traffic flow and the recording of information.

Meanwhile, the planned COVID-19 Assessment Clinic at Malua Bay this Thursday has been moved to the Hanging Rock Oval Carpark to help consolidate the testing process for local residents in one central location.

SNSWLHD urged anyone feeling unwell – even with the mildest of symptoms such as a runny nose, scratchy throat, cough, fever, shortness of breath, headache, sore throat, tiredness, loss of taste/smell, nausea, diarrhoea or muscle aches – to self-isolate and seek COVID-19 testing, so cases in the community are identified as quickly as possible.

More than 22,000 tests have been carried out across the Southern NSW Local Health District, with 4568 carried out in the Eurobodalla Shire.

The spokesperson said 3824 tests had been conducted in the Bega Valley Shire, 3907 in Goulburn Mulwaree Shire, 5515 in Queanbeyan-Palerang Shire, 2112 in the Snowy- Monaro Shire, 1330 for Yass Valley Shire and 788 in the Upper Lachlan Shire.

Original Article published by Kim Treasure on About Regional.

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