![Public Health director Mark Veitch. Picture: file Public Health director Mark Veitch. Picture: file](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/tU3s4GQYJcpNYMWcjKYZt4/6f4ba436-4466-41d0-85e9-c5924d2c075b.jpg/r0_0_1154_677_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
No further cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed at three aged care homes in the North-West where a health care worker who tested positive for the virus had worked.
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A 79-year-old resident at Melaleuca nursing home at East Devonport tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday but Public Health director Mark Veitch said as of Tuesday morning no further cases related to that institution had been detected.
COVID-19: The latest updates for Tasmania
"And one person with respiratory symptoms [on Monday] had a test taken that will be processed [on Tuesday]," Dr Veitch said.
"The surveillance for cases among staff and residents at the Eliza Purton [in Ulverstone] and Coroneagh Park [in Penguin] institutions continues but there have not been any further illnesses detected among staff and residents there.
"That surveillance for detection of illness will continue for some while."
Meanwhile, an investigation into the source of a coronavirus outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie continues.
Dr Veitch said it would be several weeks before it would be known with certainty if two patients with COVID-19 admitted to the NWRH who had obtained their infection on the Ruby Princess cruise ship had the same strain of the virus as staff at the hospital.
"That requires special genetic work on the viruses ... by an interstate laboratory," Dr Veitch said.
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"We know there were a number of staff who had symptoms when they were working over the time of the outbreak, often very relatively mild symptoms, and we think that's probably an important fact.
"We also know staff mix in handover rooms and various settings where it's impossible to maintain social distancing.
"[And] we know there were some unrecognised cases among patients that could have contributed transmission."
Dr Veitch said a rumour an "illegal dinner party" of health care workers continued to be investigated by police.
"When we did our contact tracing we followed up all the contacts we were provided by cases, and put them into quarantine if they were close contacts, and we found across the cases we dealt with there seemed to be very few gatherings of any kind undertaken by staff and people associated with the outbreak," Dr Veitch said.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the hospital outbreak was linked to 112 cases of COVID-19 in the North-West.
Of these cases, 72 were staff, 22 were patients, 11 were households contacts and seven were people who fell into other categories of contact.
Dr Veitch said the number of cases associated with the outbreak seemed to be trailing off.
"It suggests that the transmission which might have occurred when the hospitals were open and before people went into quarantine is now easing," he said.
"That's a positive sign for the Burnie community."