SYDNEY, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) -- An alert has been issued for attendees of Australia's most famous car race, the Bathurst 1000, after traces of COVID-19 were detected in sewage following the event, which took place over the weekend.
New South Wales (NSW) State health authorities revealed late Wednesday that they were advising anyone who attended the Bathurst 1000 race to be on the lookout for symptoms and get tested should they appear.
"The sample comprises wastewater from over the past weekend, and could indicate current or a previous infection in someone who attended or worked at the Bathurst 1000 motor race, a visitor to Bathurst, or even a local resident," NSW Health said in a statement.
Taking place every year in the regional town of Bathurst the race is considered the pinnacle of Australian motorsport, and due to relatively low case numbers in NSW, was allowed to go ahead in 2020 despite pandemic concerns.
While COVID-19 regulations were in place and usual attendance numbers were slashed, space for 4,000 spectators per day was allocated over the four-day event.
NSW recorded just one new locally transmitted case of COVID-19 on Thursday, in addition to six overseas travellers testing positive while in hotel quarantine, taking the state's total since the pandemic began to 4,174.
Further restrictions were set to be eased across NSW from Friday, including increasing limits on groups at hospitality venues and places of worship.
Sewage testing for molecular markers of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 began in Australia in July, and has so far proven successful in providing information about where cases of the virus may appear. Enditem
