The Hunter's public health controller has advised caution ahead of major sporting events in Newcastle, saying there was still an increased risk of COVID-19 transmission in crowded areas even with measures in place.
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Newcastle will host the Tim Tszyu v Steve Spark fight on July 7, and the city remains in the mix to hold State of Origin III the next week.
Hunter New England Health's Dr David Durrheim said while restrictions would be in place, attending large events were "not a wise thing to do" at the moment.
"We're in the middle of a pandemic, obviously during a pandemic you do not want to bring crowds together," Dr Durrheim said.
"There are guidelines and public health orders to restrict the number of people who can attend these events. Obviously organisers would ensure people are wearing masks, that people from Sydney are screened out.
"But I for one will certainly be avoiding crowded areas at the moment. I think that it's not the wise thing to do and after all the State of Origin is a dead rubber anyway."
Dr Durrheim was buoyed however by the way the Hunter was faring through Sydney's current coronavirus outbreak. He said the health service was waiting on results from sewage testing, but last week's inspection resulted in no detection.
He said GPs and the John Hunter hub reported being booked out for vaccinations.
"I think people realised where they thought had a lot of time before they got vaccinated, with COVID lurking in background it's a really good time to make sure that one is protected," he said.
Testing numbers spiked after restrictions were introduced on Saturday. In Lake Macquarie, there were 2031 tests on Monday, compared to 885 the week before. In Newcastle, 1795 tests were completed, compared to 772 the previous Monday.
"We saw an increased number of new cases yesterday detected in Sydney," Dr Durrheim said. "It's quite clear that we've done a good job in the past of getting on top of the Wuhan strain and the Kent strain. This new strain looks to be in the order of about four to five times more infectious, so its really, really important we don't take it easy."
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Sage Swinton
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
Sage Swinton is a news reporter who was born and bred in the Hunter. She has been with the Newcastle Herald since June 2020, and covers Newcastle council as well as other general news.
