coronavirus,

Six people who attended a wedding at a Stanwell Tops venue earlier this month have tested positive for coronavirus. NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said there were six confirmed cases of coronavirus among guests who attended a wedding at Tumbling Waters Retreat at Stanwell Tops on March 6. The cases are potentially linked to travel from the U.S. NSW Health said close contacts were being followed up for further investigation. It comes amid 37 new cases of people diagnosed in NSW in the 24 hours to 11am, bringing the total confirmed cases to 171. Read more: First case of COVID-19 confirmed in the Illawarra: NSW Health Tumbling Waters Retreat owner Sonja Keller said she found out about the new cases who attended her venue via the NSW Health Minister's press conference on Monday. "Nobody at the venue is sick," she said. "The wedding was 10 days ago but nobody from the department has contacted us. "It would have been nice to hear about it not via the media. "But these are extenuating circumstances. What can we do about it?" Ms Keller said the guests only attended the outdoor wedding and did not stay at the retreat. "None of my staff are sick and the isolation period is nearly over," she said. "We won't get tested as no one has any symptoms, which is the advice as per the guidelines." Dr Chant said it was important that only people with symptoms who had recently returned from overseas be tested for coronavirus. "If we're swamped with a lot of testing which is of low value, low yield, it actually means that there could be delays for us finding these cases, that are actually putting the community at risk," she said. Ms Keller said the bride and groom were overseas and had also found out about the cases via the media. "Nobody knows anything else other than what was reported in the media," she said. Ms Keller said it was a shock to find out and she worried the confirmed cases would hit her business hard. "Business is already tough enough and people will be worried to come here now," she said. "But we are all well." Hours after the press conference, Ms Keller received a call from NSW Health assuring her the guest who tested positive were not contagious during the time they spent at the retreat. Keira MP Ryan Park was "flabbergasted" and "appalled" the business owner was not informed of the confirmed cases by NSW Health so she and staff could help prevent the spread of the virus by taking precautions. "It was an enormous breakdown in communication and I will be asking the minister to directly resolve what happened," he said. "The owner should have been notified very quickly so the situation could be ascertain, such as how many people were at the wedding, where did they come from etc. "This is the exact information and links in the chain that we need to know to try and stop the virus' transmission. "To have that occur is very disappointing in the middle of a pandemic." We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we aim to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.

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