NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has flagged the Illawarra Shoalhaven Health District as an "area of concern," due to a rising number of cases in the region.
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Another 21 cases were announced for the region on Monday morning, in addition to the 28 cases recorded over the weekend.
Of the 21 announced on Monday, nine were in Wollongong, and six have been linked to existing cases. Eight were in the Shoalhaven, and seven of those are linked to existing cases. Four are in Shellharbour, and two are linked to existing cases.
The source of six cases remains under investigation.
Mr Barilaro said most the cases were linked to a small number of families, however, there has been a significant community exposure, and numbers continue to rise.
He said while authorities were concerned about case numbers in the region, it was not the same as Sydney's LGAs of concern. Instead he urged residents to get vaccinated with whichever vaccine is available.
"The best vaccine is the one that's in your arm, and there is plenty of AZ available," he said.
He also recommended residents regularly check the NSW Health website for updated exposure venues, as contact tracers are "stretched".
"I would hope contact tracers get in touch with everyone, but they are stretched," he said. "My understanding is the contact tracing process continues, but the onus is on the individual to get tested and isolate."
Member for Kiama Gareth Ward said a number of residents had been left in the dark about potential contact with a COVID case.
"Over the last week, I have been made aware of three locations in the Shoalhaven Local Government area where a positive COVID case has been detected," he said.
"In all three of these cases, our community found out about these cases through social media or the business owners advised their customers via email or media.
"For example, Bunnings Nowra had a confirmed case on August 31. People who attended the venue still haven't received a text message to advise that they were a casual contact."
He slammed the notification process and said people could not do the right thing without access to timely information.
"I assumed that when a person has tested positive for COVID that their QR check-in data would be cross-referenced with all persons checked-in at the same venue at the same time," he said.
"People have a right to know if they were in possible contact with a COVID case.
"The fact that this process is taking over a week is totally unacceptable and could allow for the virus to spread whilst casual contacts remain unaware of information that NSW Health has in its possession."
Meanwhile, Keira MP Ryan Park questioned whether regional hospitals would cope with the projected surge in ICU demand.
"Wollongong Hospital services a large part of the South Coast," he said.
"We're doing a great job of supporting South West Sydney, but what is the plan for the surge in demand? Hospitals like ours were already under the pump before COVID."
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