North-west COVID: COVID-19 cases in Glen Innes and Gunnedah, but no lockdown yet

Hunter New England Health said investigations continue into the Gunnedah case. Fragments of the COVID-19 virus had recently been found in the town's sewage.

Gunnedah Shire Mayor Jamie Chaffey said his understanding was the positive case was a close contact of the confirmed Narrabri case from last week, but has been isolating and was not infectious while in the community.

In Glen Innes, the person was active in the community during their infectious period, on September 14 and 15 and contact tracers are in the process of determining their movements.

The person had been in Sydney for essential work and tested positive on Wednesday night. They are now isolating at home.

Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall said a decision on lockdown will not be made until after health officials determine how much of a risk the person was to the broader community.

"Contact tracing teams have been interviewing the individual to determine their movements and all close contacts and any close contact venues," he said.

"This work is ongoing and hasn't been completed yet.

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"At this stage, this will not result in the Glen Innes Severn LGA going back into lockdown.

"A decision about this will be made after the contract tracing work has been finalised, to determine the level of risk to the broader community."

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said at a press conference on Thursday morning that the Lismore and Albury LGAs would be going back into lockdown, but Glen Innes and Gunnedah were not mentioned.

Deputy Prime Minister John Barilaro said further advice could be delivered later on Thursday afternoon regarding whether the Glen Innes region will be put into lockdown.

Mr Marshall is urging the community to stay safe until more information can be provided.

There are also concerns about the Inverell community after traces of the virus were found in its sewage. However, no cases have been identified in the region.

In Tamworth, the run of six consecutive positive traces in the sewage has been broken, with no fragments detected from tests conducted on Monday, 13 September.

There were 1351 new COVID-19 cases and 12 deaths across the state in the 24 hours leading up to 8pm on Wednesday.

There were 27 cases identified in the Western NSW Health District, while two were found in the Far West Health District. There were 16 across the Hunter-New England Health District.

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