One child diagnosed with coronavirus after three rushed to hospital from quarantine hotel
One child and a family member have tested positive for coronavirus after three sick children were rushed to hospital from a Sydney hotel where a number of people remain in quarantine after returning to Australia.
The children were transferred by ambulance from the Hilton hotel in central Sydney about 10pm on Tuesday to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital for treatment.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed on Wednesday morning the family of seven had been in quarantine at the Hilton Hotel after returning from overseas.
Footage from the scene showed paramedics clad in full protective gear rushing the children out of the hotel on stretchers and into awaiting ambulances.
The children are reportedly all in stable conditions after showing mild symptoms of coronavirus, Dr Chant said.
The other family members of the children have been shifted to a nearby separate hotel to keep them apart from others in quarantine at the Hilton.
The emergency comes ahead of the release of the first group of 288 Australians quarantined at the nearby Swissotel on Wednesday morning, under a police operation to ensure their departure is quick and seamless.
This group arrived in Australia on March 26 and have undertaken a mandatory 14-day self-isolation and will get a letter confirming their period of isolation before undergoing a final health check.
After Wednesday's operation, police will plan for further hotel departures with some 3000 Australian residents expected to come out of hotel isolation over the next week.
Lockdown until vaccine
Meanwhile, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says social distancing rules to limit the spread of COVID-19 will stay in place until a vaccine is found.
NSW recorded another 48 cases on Tuesday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 2734.
While the number of new cases in NSW continues to stabilise, authorities are still concerned about the 406 locally-acquired cases with an unknown source.
The latest deaths include a 90-year-old male resident of the Opal Care Bankstown aged care facility and an 87-year-old woman who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
Of the 21 NSW deaths recorded so far, five are linked to the Ruby Princess, six were residents at Dorothy Henderson Lodge and two were residents at Opal Care Bankstown.
The Ruby Princess remains docked in Port Kembla, near Wollongong, where it's expected to remain for 10 days while 1040 crew members undergo medical assessments.
About 200 crew have symptoms of coronavirus.
The vessel is linked to hundreds of COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths across Australia.
The NSW Police homicide squad is investigating why passengers were allowed to disembark from the ship in Sydney on March 19 despite concerns some might have contracted the illness.
- with AAP
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