Amazing Response Brings Cowra Out Of Lockdown

Member For Cootamundra Steph Cooke has praised Cowra’s incredible response to its COVID-19 outbreak, and says this is the reason it was able to emerge from its second lockdown this year on Tuesday.

After entering lockdown for the first time this year in mid-August for around a month, when all of regional NSW was plunged into lockdown, Cowra was released from lockdown for one week, only to be thrown straight back in when it officially recorded its first ever case of COVID-19 on Monday September 20.

Residents of the shire were incredibly quick to respond, with over 700 people turning out to get tested at the drive through testing clinic on Sunday September 19, when the first case was announced by the Western NSW Local Health District, and included in NSW Health’s case numbers the following day.

To last Sunday 6304 tests had been processed at the WNSWLHD drive through testing clinic at the Cowra Showground since Friday September 17, which equates to over 60% of Cowra’s township population. This is not including tests processed at the Kendal Street Medical Centre, making the numbers even more impressive.

Ms Cooke said Cowra’s testing numbers were some of the highest per capita seen anywhere in NSW, and this played a major role in Cowra coming out of lockdown, despite having recorded 51 cases to Tuesday.

“The expert panel was satisfied that whilst we had 51 cases in the Cowra LGA, all at home in isolation under the care of the WNSWLHD, community transmission has decreased substantially over the past 11 days, with new cases being household or close contacts of previous positive cases, and having been in isolation for the duration of their infectious period,” she said on her Facebook page.

“The other key factor was the testing rates in the Cowra LGA.” Restrictions still in place will be the same as they were prior to the lock-down.

• Topics:
• Lock-downs
• Covid-19
• Health Smart