PEOPLE from Sydney hotspots are travelling to Newcastle for testing and potentially putting our community at risk, Sonia Hornery says.
The State Member for Wallsend has written to NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, asking him to "dramatically increase" the level of testing for COVID-19 in the South Western Sydney hotspots after it was revealed people from these areas have been getting tested at the John Hunter Hospital and the University of Newcastle clinics.
Ms Hornery said she has received calls and messages from concerned workers at both sites who confirmed that a number of people from hotspot areas had arrived to be tested for COVID-19.
She said staff had raised concerns that people who presented for testing would be visiting local cafes or restaurants during their trip, and some had been found walking around the university campus trying to find the drive-through clinic.
"Queues for pop-up testing clinics in Sydney have seen delays of up to five hours and people are looking to other places to get tested out of frustration," she said. "It is great that people are heeding the advice of our health officials and are presenting to get tested, especially for those in the South Western Sydney hotspots.
"What is concerning is that people are leaving their local area out of frustration at the long queues and travelling to areas like the John Hunter Hospital and the University of Newcastle to get tested.
"What was more concerning was the reports that the people presenting for testing had obviously visited local cafes or restaurants for food and drinks."
A Hunter New England Health spokesperson said three people from South Western Sydney had been tested for COVID-19 at the John Hunter Hospital clinic, and one had been tested at the university.
They said they did not have data on whether those people had driven from Sydney to Newcastle for the purposes of a test, or if they were already in the area for the holidays.
They also said there were testing clinics much closer to South Western Sydney than Newcastle.
It comes as NSW Health announced there were 10 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on July 15, with an additional two new cases identified overnight.
"People are travelling to get a test as quickly as possible, so that the period of self-isolation they are required to undertake has as minimal impact on their working lives as possible," Ms Hornery said.
"The government advice is that anyone who has been in the hotspot areas and establishments should be self-isolating and not travelling, yet there are clear examples of people travelling to the Hunter, stopping along the way and potentially spreading the virus further afield.
"Many people have only just returned to work and now are being required to have more days off until they are tested and shown to be negative.
"The level of testing needs to be ramped up to prevent anyone having to travel to the Hunter for a test."
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said their advice had not changed.
"If you have symptoms of COVID, you get tested, but you isolate until you have the all-clear," she said.
"It is critical that people take this seriously.
"You can see four or five chains of transmission in a period of 10 days, and that describes the challenge of this. We have to be vigilant."
Close to 40 cases are now linked to the Casula hotel outbreak of COVID-19, and NSW Health is racing to track down the source of three cases which have not been linked to any previous identified venues.
Dr Chant said she was "overwhelming grateful" by the community's response to testing.
"I appreciate some of them had delays in getting a test but appreciate their forbearance has been magnificent.
"I'd also like to acknowledge the hard work of the health staff that have really done a valiant job of standing up the clinics and working very extended hours.
"This is such a critical time in our response phase."
