A new cluster of COVID cases in Sydney has risen to 17 and health experts think it’s linked to a super-spreader event involving a cover band named Nothing Too Serious.

Following reports that two new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sydney’s Northern Beaches involved a woman in her 60s and a man in his 70s not isolating after getting tested, it seems like there’s a lot more to the story.

While the source of the infections remains unknown, health authorities are working on a hypothesis that this new cluster revolves around a potential super-spreader event at the Avalon RSL Club last Friday on December 11th.

After those initial two cases were confirmed, health authorities detailed three additional cases of COVID-19 on Thursday morning (as per The West Australian) – a woman in her 50s working at Pittwater Palms aged care facility at Avalon Beach, her partner, and a Frenchs Forest man in his 60s.

This Frenchs Forest man also happens to be the drummer of the cover band Nothing Too Serious, who have been touring and performed at the Avalon RSL Club as part of the aforementioned potential super-spreader event, thus inadvertently playing a part in what health authorities think happened.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says her department’s working theory is that an unknown infected person attended the Avalon RSL Club on Friday, December 11th, when Nothing Too Serious were performing and infected the band’s drummer and two other people.

These two newly infected people then attended the Avalon Bowlo on Sunday, December 13th, and infected the aforementioned woman in her 50s working at Pittwater Palms aged care facility.

As for the drummer of Nothing Too Serious, he “travelled extensively” and went on to perform with his band at Penrith RSL on Sunday, December 13th, and Kirribilli Club on Monday, December 14th, following the Avalon RSL Club performance (as per 9News).

In response to the irony of this outbreak involving the drummer of a band named Nothing Too Serious, Health Minister Brad Hazzard had this to say (as per ABC News): “The gentleman from Frenchs Forest … this particular person has been working in a band.

“The band is called Nothing Too Serious. Certainly from our point of view, I wouldn’t say it’s exactly how we feel, because it obviously is serious.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian encouraged everyone living on the Northern Beaches “with the mildest of symptoms” to get tested and announced that a number of aged care homes in the area will be locked down in an attempt to contain the outbreak.

The Premier also confirmed that genomic testing was being carried out to determine the source of the new COVID-19 outbreak.

At the time of writing, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Sydney’s Northern Beaches has since risen to 17.

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.
to Rolling Stone magazine
to Rolling Stone magazine