The Murrumbidgee Local Health District has confirmed the COVID-19 case that led to potential exposure sites being identified in the northern Riverina falls under a neighbouring jurisdiction and is not an MLHD case.
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The revelation means there are currently no active cases in the MLHD and the health district remains one of only two across the state that have not recorded a COVID-19 case in the four weeks to 8pm on Sunday, according to the latest NSW Health data.
The MLHD has not had a locally-acquired coronavirus case for more than a year.
Northern NSW - which includes Lismore, Grafton and Byron Bay - is the only other local health district without a recorded case during the past month.
The Murrumbidgee's most recent COVID scare was revealed in the form of an alert issued on Saturday morning, after the MLHD was notified that a woman had visited a number of locations in Lake Cargelligo and Hillston while infectious on August 16.
The woman, a resident of the Lachlan Shire, was not symptomatic during her visit to the towns and it is understood she came forward for testing as soon as symptoms developed. She is now isolating outside the MLHD.
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The MLHD's director of public health, Tracey Oakman, confirmed on Monday that the woman was not included in the Murrumbidgee's case numbers.
"They're being looked after by Western [NSW] Local Health District and that has currently gone into their data," Ms Oakman said.
Only a small part of the Lachlan Shire, which includes Lake Cargelligo, sits within the MLHD coverage area.
Lake Cargelligo is in the MLHD's jurisdiction but Ms Oakman said the Lachlan Shire "straddles" both the MLHD and neighbouring Western NSW Local Health District, which has "taken ownership" of the case.
When asked if cases were reflected in the data for the health district they lived in, Ms Oakman said "generally, yes".
"They're also in a region where there is a local government area that straddles two districts, so it's a bit of a tricky situation with the Lake Cargelligo region and so Western [NSW LHD] has taken ownership of that case because of both of those reasons," she said.
The infectious woman made brief visits to four businesses in Lake Cargelligo and Hillston on August 16.
Anyone who may have crossed paths with her, or visited the venues at particular times, has been urged to get tested immediately and isolate until further advice from NSW Health.
The venues of concern include St Mary Pharmacy at Lake Cargelligo between 9.50am and 9.55am, Lake Cargelligo IGA between 9.55am and 10.05am, Fisho's Hot Bake and Takeaway at Lake Cargelligo between 10.05am and 10.15am, and The Shed on Lachlan at Hillston between 11.20am and 11.50am.
Hundreds of people in both towns have since come forward for testing, which Ms Oakman said was "a really big turnout" given the size of the communities.
All the tests have so far come back negative, she said, with only a handful of people yet to receive a result.
The lack of active cases in the health district means there are no recorded cases in any of the local government areas that make up the MLHD - a position that could work in the region's favour when it comes to the lifting of regional NSW stay-at-home orders.
Last week, Deputy Premier John Barilaro flagged the NSW government would be "looking at an LGA (by LGA) approach" to lifting the current lockdown.
The decision to let certain regions out of lockdown earlier, Mr Barilaro said, would be based on whether there were any active COVID-19 cases, if fragments of the virus were found in sewage, and whether there were adjoining LGAs of concern with high case numbers.
On Monday, Mr Barilaro said he had requested a map of regional councils be drawn up based on those three criteria and he would fight for eligible areas to be removed from the lockdown.
The Deputy Premier said he planned to argue for the approach at Wednesday's crisis cabinet meeting.
When asked if the statewide lockdown measures - which came into effect two days before the woman's visits - helped prevent more people being exposed, Ms Oakman said "absolutely".
"The lockdown measures meant that there were less people in those shops and in those venues than normal - the people who own those places have said that to us, so that is evidence, I guess, that it has reduced the risk, absolutely," she said.
The woman also used QR codes check-ins at the venues and Ms Oakman encouraged others to continue to do the same, to aid the contact tracing process.
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