A man from the eastern suburbs of Sydney is the first to contract the virus locally in more than a month.
Australia’s most populous state New South Wales (NSW) on Wednesday reported its first locally acquired COVID-19 case in more than a month, sending authorities rushing to trace the source of the virus .
A man in his 50s who tested positive for the novel coronavirus had visited a cinema, restaurants, gas station and butcher in Sydney’s eastern suburbs without knowing he was contagious, authorities said on Wednesday.
The infected person has not traveled overseas recently and is not working in a high-risk job such as quarantine in hotels or hospitals, the New Wales State director of health said. South, Kerry Chant, to reporters in Sydney.
“So all the usual routes where we would expect someone to have contracted the infection are unclear,” Chant said. Close contacts were asked to undergo testing and self-isolate.
Australia has largely contained the coronavirus outbreak through instant lockdowns, border controls and rapid contact tracing systems, with just over 29,800 cases and 910 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
He has not reported any cases on most days this year.
