The nine Hunter disability workers who tested positive to COVID-19 have been linked to the Redeemed City of David Church exposure site.
The Waratah church was on Monday listed as an exposure site from Saturday, July 31 to Sunday, August 15.
Hunter New England Health confirmed the nine disability workers who worked while unknowingly infectious at disability individual and group homes across Newcastle, Maitland, Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens had all been linked to the church exposure site. The health district would not confirm how the cases were connected with the church.
No further cases have been linked with the disability care homes or the church, the health district said. Most residents at the affected homes were partially or fully vaccinated and regular testing is ongoing at the homes. The church no longer appears on the NSW Health case locations web page.
The district worked with care providers Connectability, Lifestyle Solutions, Solid Holistic Care, PHM Health, Samaritans, Ability Options and New Horizons to identify any residents and staff who could have been exposed to the infectious workers.
Some of the positive cases were from ConnectAbility, while Samaritans also confirmed one of their disability staff members who had been infectious while working in two Samaritans Supported Independent Living homes had tested positive on August 8.
Solid Holistic Care said it had identified two close contacts, who each returned consecutive negative tests and had shown no symptoms.
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