Coronavirus Covid-19: Officials continue to search for the source of the Sydney outbreak

Contact trackers are pursuing dozens of lines of investigation and officials are perusing CCTV footage as the New South Wales government scrambles to find the source of the growing group on Sydney’s north beaches.

The mystery surrounding the outbreak is such that the state’s health director has speculated that finding ‘Patient Zero’ could be a “challenge beyond us.”

Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced another 30 cases of community transmission on the peninsula on Sunday, bringing the number of cases associated with the cluster to 68.

Almost all of the new infections (28) are directly related to the Avalon group, while two are under investigation, but were diagnosed in people living near Avalon.

Genomic sequencing suggests that the strain circulating in the community is of American origin and could have entered the country through an infected traveler who returned to Sydney on December 1.

However, Health Director Kerry Chant said “no one has yet been identified” who may have brought that strain of the virus to northern beaches.

“There is no one else that we have identified who could be the source,” Dr. Chant said.

“At the moment, we are forensic analyzing all of that individual’s trips to see if there were any points associated with him.

“There is intensive investigation underway and while we really want to find the source, this may be a challenge beyond us.”

Dr. Chant said the returning traveler, a woman, was contagious on the plane and was quarantined from the hotel upon arrival.

“We are trying to find and compare any list, look for people who may have been associated with anything that has to do with airports or quarantine facilities,” he said.

“The investigation is wide-ranging and we have a dedicated team and support that analyzes the CCTV images.

“We are being as thorough as we can. We will probably have … at any time, 10 or 20 lines of investigation and we pursue them all at the same time.

“There is no one who wants to get to the bottom of this more than myself, because if I understand the clear chains of transmission I can better inform the government about the risk.”

“The problem we have right now is that I don’t know how we got there, so I don’t know the person or where they have been.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard was asked if the virus could have reached northern beaches through a person who was exempt from hotel quarantine.

He told reporters that “there was not a single case” in which an exempt person had presented a positive case to the community.

Berejiklian was more confident about the prospects of finding the source.

“Of course we are concerned that health experts have not yet identified how the group spread to the community or how it started in Avalon (but) we will certainly get to the bottom of that,” he said.

Acting Medical Director Paul Kelly said it was more important to find out where the cases had been while they were infectious.

“And also, as is the normal case now, particularly in New South Wales, looking back from when they were infected to where they had been in the week or two before that,” said Professor Kelly.

“That will give us a lot of clues and hopefully it will also include where this missing link may be, if you want.”