NO NEW cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in Tamworth or Armidale in the latest 24-hour testing period, after fears a government office had been contaminated with the virus.
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The latest update from Hunter New England Health (HNEH) on Tuesday afternoon shows Tamworth still has 13 confirmed cases and it is understood Armidale remains steady at two confirmed cases.
The Leader revealed on Monday there were fears for a potential outbreak in Armidale after a child protection worker at the Armidale Community Services Centre were confirmed to have the COVID-19 virus following testing late last week.
The Jessie Street office was closed for a thorough clean and almost 20 staff were forced into isolation as they await their test results for the infection.
In a promising sign, HNEH figures showed no new COVID-19 patients were added to the Armidale tally as at 8pm on Monday.
Authorities are still trying to trace the source of infection for at least one patient in Armidale.
Other towns in the New England North West also have mystery cases, where the patient contracted the virus from an unknown source.
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NSW Health data shows authorities are investigating at least one patient in each of the Moree, Gunnedah and Tamworth areas, who have a mystery source of infection.
A 58-year-old local woman died in Tamworth hospital last Thursday, after contracting the coronavirus from an unknown source.
Her positive test for the deadly virus only came back on Friday, the day after she died.
The death - the first in Tamworth - took the city's case count from 12 patients to 13. It hasn't moved since last week, despite ongoing tracing of the woman's contacts and movements in the lead-up to her hospital admission.
Her death will be referred to the coroner to investigate, the Leader understands.
In the latest update, NSW Health data shows Armidale, Inverell, Moree, Glen Innes, Gunnedah, Liverpool Plains and Uralla all have at least one and up to four confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Moree recorded its first case of the coronavirus late last week but tracing has failed to reveal how the patient contracted it.
NSW Health does not specify the case count for a local government area until it reaches five patients.
Gwydir Shire, Walcha and Narrabri council areas remain free of confirmed cases.
HNEH confirmed two additional patients had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as at 8pm on Monday. It brings the district's total case count to 280. Of these, 234 have officially recovered.
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