A bus route, two shops and three popular inner-city watering holes have joined the rapidly growing list of COVID-19 exposure sites in Newcastle.
Hunter New England Health announced on Tuesday afternoon that anyone who caught the 269 bus from Booragul to Warners Bay at about 10.15am on August 3, 4 and 5 is a close a contact and should get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days.
The positive COVID case caught the bus from the intersection of First Street and Fourth Street, Booragul, at 10.15am, 10.18am and 10.16am on the three days.
The person exited the bus after 12 minutes on each day at John Street, Warners Bay.
Anyone on the bus at the time should get tested, isolate and await more instructions from NSW Health.
HNEH also announced that anyone at the Great Northern Hotel from 7 to 8pm on Friday, July 30, is a casual contact and must get tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result.
The same advice applies to anyone at Babylon bar in King Street on the same evening from 8.05 to 8.30pm and patrons at the Cambridge Hotel from 8.45pm to 3am that night.
Customers of Ritchies IGA at New Lambton received health alerts that a COVID-positive person had visited the store from 2.35 to 2.45pm on August 3.
Anyone there at the same time is deemed a casual contact and should get tested and isolate until receiving a negative result.
Customers at Barber Industries, at Westfield Kotara, from 1.30 to 2pm on Thursday, August 5, are considered close contacts and must get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
HNEH said anyone at the venues should get tested even if they had been tested in recent days.
"You should continue to monitor for symptoms and, if any symptoms appear, get tested and isolate again," it said.
"Anyone with even the mildest of cold-like symptoms is urged to immediately come forward for testing and isolate until a negative result is received."
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