NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has tested positive to Covid-19.
Mr Hazzard’s office said the Minister tested positive on Tuesday night and is suffering minor flu-like symptoms.
“Minister Hazzard is now in isolation. He developed minor flu like symptoms overnight and is being managed via the NSW Health virtual hospital and the Northern Sydney xjmtzywPublic Health Unit,” a statement said.
The statement said Mr Hazzard was told earlier on Tuesday night a colleague had returned a positive rapid antigen test.
Mr Hazzard took a rapid test as well, which was negative.
However a subsequent PCR test returned a positive result.
Mr Hazzard has been fully vaccinated and said he intended to continue working virtually.
The Liberal Wakehurst MP has been the state’s Health Minister since 2017.
He has helped steer the government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic, which first hit the state in January 2020.
PCR tests, an abbreviation of polymerase chain reaction, are known as more reliable than RAT tests.
It’s not unusual for a patient to return a negative RAT test only to have their coronavirus infection confirmed by PCR.
There were 24,151 positive coronavirus tests reported to NSW Health in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.
Fifteen Covid-19 positive people died in the same period.
There were 1444 patients in hospital were infected with the coronavirus, although some of those may have been hospitalised for other reasons.
