US retail giant Costco's Australian head has conceded that the company was "caught out" by the Delta strain of COVID-19 and regrets attempting to open a new store near Newcastle.
Key points:
- Five more people have tested positive, with 700 close contacts and up to 600 casual contacts being traced
- A public health physician says mapping of the cases shows them scattered across the warehouse
- Costco's managing director in Australia denies the situation reflects poorly on how seriously the company takes COVID safety measures
The Boolaroo warehouse at Lake Macquarie was set to open today after eight months of preparation, but is now at the centre of a COVID cluster.
On August 16, the company sent 20 Sydney-based employees north to train about 250 local recruits, but one of the Sydney workers was unknowingly infected with the virus.
"We thought we had a responsibility to get open," Costco managing director Patrick Noone told the ABC.
"And looking back now, we wouldn't have done what we've done. For sure."
An additional five people have since tested positive, but with a staggering 700 close contacts and an estimated 600 casual contacts, health authorities say the Hunter region is on a knife's edge.
Company 'followed COVID rules'
Mr Noone said delaying the opening of the store was considered, but ultimately the company decided to proceed with COVID safety measures in place.
"So when we got to that point a few weeks before the opening, we trimmed back the number of employees we normally send, we only had 20 people come up to help out," Mr Noone said.
"We do apologise to the people of the Hunter Valley and Newcastle area."
Mr Noone said between 150 to 200 workers were inside the 14,000 square metre warehouse at any one time.
He said masks were worn inside the warehouse, QR codes were used, hand sanitiser was available, and temperature checks were conducted before people entered the building.
The 20 workers from Sydney also followed guidelines by getting COVID tests within 72 hours of entering the Hunter and all returned negative results.
Health authorities said the infected worker was on site for four days and came down with symptoms after two days, but continued to go to work.
Mr Noone said he would not discuss the individual worker, but denied that it reflected poorly on how seriously the company took COVID safety measures.
"Would we wish this not to happen? Absolutely. But it has happened. And we were determined to keep everyone safe going forward."
Potential 'super spreading event'
The worker's choice not to isolate with the onset of symptoms may not ultimately have a significant impact on the overall outcome.
When his symptoms arrived early on day three, health authorities say at least four other workers were already infected.
"So at one time during that week, on the 19th [of August], there were at least five infectious people in that warehouse," said the region's public health controller Dr David Durrheim.
Dr Durrheim said mapping of the cases showed them scattered across the warehouse, giving it "all the characteristics for a super spreading event".
"There was a lot of movement and a lot of people in a cool environment which gives the virus an advantage, so we really can't say at this stage how many secondary cases there will be," he said.
He said tracking down everyone who was potentially exposed had been a large exercise, especially given the multiple contractors, sub-contractors and delivery people who were visiting the site during the finishing stages of getting the store ready to open.
On Monday it was revealed one of the infected workers had spent time at the Costco fuel station and membership office, which had already opened to the public, branding hundreds more people as casual contacts and requiring them to get tested.
Dr Durrheim said the fact that contact tracing efforts were swift and people exposed quickly isolated could be a big advantage in stopping a second generation of cases, but only time would tell.
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