Tuesday, 14 April 2020
NORTHERN Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has today thanked the community for its co-operation and efforts in staying home and stopping the spread of COVID-19 over the Easter long weekend, with NO new confirmed cases recorded in the electorate for almost a week now.
Mr Marshall said while it looked like NSW was getting on top of COVID-19, it would only take one person out in the community with the illness, doing the wrong thing, to put that in jeopardy.
“We as a community have given up so much to stop the spread of COVID-19, if we drop the ball now all that inconvenience and sacrifice will have been for nothing,” Mr Marshall said.
“We must maintain our vigilance for a little bit longer yet so that we can get back to some form of normality quicker.
Mr Marshall said that while the vast majority of people thankfully did the right thing over the long weekend there were a number who still flouted the rules.
New England Police issued 53 warnings to people who were out-and-about without a valid excuse and two Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) were issued in the region for non-essential travel in Armidale and Glen Innes.
“You should only leave home if you are travelling to work or study, shop for essential items, to seek medical attention or exercise,” Mr Marshall said.
“COVID-19 can only spread if people come into physical contact with each other, so let’s not help this thing, let’s stay at home, maintain good social distancing if outside and stop coronavirus in its tracks.”
Mr Marshall said by the vast majority of people adhering to social distancing they have greatly helped authorities manage the spread of the illness.
“As of today there remains only eight confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the electorate and that number hasn’t changed for six days,” he said.
“As it stands there are two cases at Armidale, one from an unknown source the other a community to community transmission, two at Emmaville and three at Inverell, all contracted on cruise ships or overseas and one in Uralla Shire contracted overseas.
“From this week we should start seeing the first of our local cases move from the confirmed COVID-19 category to the recovered category. Before they are deemed as recovered, all patients will be tested again and if the test results are negative they will be able to end their isolation.
“I urge everybody to show these people respect as they re-enter the community. They have all done the right thing and self-isolated during their illness and now need friendship and support as they get on with their lives, not hate and personal attacks on social media.
“Thank you to everyone in the community – you’ve done a great job so far and we’re almost there.”