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EMERGENCY

In an emergency, always call triple zero (000) for an ambulance. Ambulances are the safest way to be assessed, treated and transported to the right hospital for the care you need.

Triple zero (000) is a free call from any phone, mobile or phone box.

For less severe but still urgent situations, go to an Emergency Department.

There are 12 public hospital Emergency Departments in Northern NSW Local Health District and they are all available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Emergency departments are located at:

COVID-19 update: 24 April 2022
Published: 24 Apr 2022

To 4pm 23 April, 559 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Northern NSW Local Health District, including 118 positive PCR tests and 441 positive rapid antigen tests (RAT)**.

Confirmed tests by LGA (PCR and RAT included):

  • Ballina 84
  • Byron 129
  • Clarence Valley 49
  • Kyogle 5
  • Lismore 103
  • Richmond Valley 36
  • Tenterfield* 1
  • Tweed 152

*Tenterfield is in a different Local Health District, but postcodes put cases in NNSWLHD.

There are 41 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with two of these in ICU.

It is possible that case numbers may increase further as a result of family gatherings, incoming visitors and social events over the long weekend and holiday period.

Everyone is urged to take precautions to protect each other:

  • don’t go out if you’re unwell
  • take your mask with you so you can wear it if you’re somewhere you can’t socially distance, especially indoors, and
  • use hand sanitiser or wash your hands regularly.

If you have even mild symptoms or have had known contact with a COVID-19 case, please get tested as soon as you can. Please isolate while awaiting a negative result.

If you test positive using a Rapid Antigen Test (RAT), please register your result with Service NSW.

Boosters:

  • If you are eligible for a booster, please book without delay through the COVID-19 vaccine clinic finder
  • An additional winter booster dose is recommended for those who are at higher risk of serious illness. This includes people who are:
    Aged 65+
    • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander aged 50+
    • Residents of an aged care or disability care facility
    • Severely immunocompromised and aged 16+

If it has been more than 6 months since your second vaccine and you have not had your booster, you are considered 'overdue'.

The booster dose is vital to provide some level of protection against the current circulating variants, and most importantly, it protects against severe illness.

Case data and other COVID-19 information is available on the NSW Government website.

** Please note these RAT results may be from within the previous seven days, and there may be some cases included in these numbers where people have reported positive RATs on multiple days and/or where people have also had a positive PCR test during the same reporting period.