Residents locked down in a Windale unit complex have all tested negative to COVID-19 but will remain in isolation for at least a few more days waiting to be re-tested.
Twenty-nine tenants of the Wesley Mission-managed unit complex on James Street were plunged into lockdown on Tuesday after a fellow resident brought the virus back from Blacktown.
But they all received negative results on Thursday morning after being tested on Wednesday.
Hunter New England Health said the residents will be tested again on Friday and a decision on their isolation status will be made depending on the results.
The positive case was taken to hospital on Tuesday after his condition deteriorated, and has remained off site since.
An exposure site in the suburb was released by the health service on Thursday.
Anyone who attended Windale Takeaway on Saturday between 5.35pm and 5.45pm is a casual contact and must get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Wesley Mission said its Community Housing Team had spoken with all tenants and made arrangements for items such as medication to be supplied. On Wednesday afternoon, all residents received a week's worth of supplies, including fresh food, pantry staples and personal care items.
Shortland MP Pat Conroy has joined calls for a pop-up vaccination hub in Windale, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the Lower Hunter at 20-29 per cent.
Mr Conroy said in Federal Parliament there was a high number of First Nations and elderly people in the suburb, and the need for a coordinated response to the situation from state and federal governments was "urgent".
"Windale is a resilient community but no community is resilient enough to fight COVID on their own and that's why my state colleague, the member for Charlestown, and I are calling for an urgent pop-up vaccination clinic for the suburb," he said.
"However, we've been told that this is not possible because NSW Health does not have enough Pfizer vaccines.
"My constituents, those ones in Windale, some of the most disadvantaged people in Australia, see the Prime Minister and Premier every night saying, 'Get vaccinated.' Well, Prime Minister, there are not enough vaccines for Windale and it's your fault."
