COVID-19 cases at Edgeworth at the Hawkins Masonic Village causing big concerns

The Hawkins Masonic Village has become a place of high concern among health authorities, as the Hunter New England Region's positive cases jumped by another 24 on Thursday to a "a total of 77 in the district since August 5".

The village was highlighted in Premier Gladys Berejiklian's daily press conference on Thursday, when two more positive cases among staff were announced - adding to the one staff case previously reported.

The 11 residents who tested positive are being cared for at John Hunter Hospital. Ten of these infected people are fully vaccinated.

"Three of the residents are receiving oxygen, but they are all stable and none are in ICU," a hospital spokesperson said.

Frank Price is chief executive of RFBI [Royal Freemasons' Benevolent Institution], which operates the masonic village. Mr Price said it was "extremely tough" dealing with the outbreak.

"We're fighting hard," Mr Price said.

He said about 50 staff were in isolation due to being close contacts.

"We're struggling to find people. We've managed to scrimp and find people from other [aged care] locations of ours. We're really on a skeleton staff at the moment because there is a deficit of aged-care workers out there."

He said they were awaiting more test results of those in the nursing home section, which has three buildings.

"The building which has the outbreak has 40 people, of which 11 are now in hospital. The other two buildings have 28 and 14 people. At this stage, they have tested negative, which is wonderful. We're testing them every day just in case."

While the nursing home residents had been tested for COVID, there were concerns about testing 170 residents living in villas ringed around the nursing home section of the village.

NSW Health had advised the masonic village that those in the villas did not need to be tested. However villa residents and their families raised concerns with local MPs, so the testing was done on Thursday through a private pathology operator.

It was a relief for some residents who were concerned they had been exposed to the virus.

"We're a community within a community and we want to make sure we look after everyone, including our retirement village residents," Mr Price said.

The nursing home is separate to the villas, but residents said there can be mingling between the two.

"One of the girls who was waiting to get tested this morning [Thursday], who works here I think as a cleaner, I was talking to her at the laundry at the beginning of last week," one resident said.

Security guarded the gates at the village on Thursday, but residents in the villas are allowed out at this point. They are not considered casual or close contacts who have to isolate.

A resident, who lives in one of the villas, said she was "very anxious and scared, as we all are".

She was happy to have been tested on Thursday.

"I'm just waiting for the results now," she said.

"I honestly don't think some of the residents here realise how serious this is. Communication is the biggest thing, with people wondering what's going on."

She was following the situation on television, but "actually turned it off this morning because it's so depressing".

However, the resident was buoyed by the support she'd received.

"The phone calls and texts I've had, and messages on Facebook, everybody realises 'oh god she's in there, I hope she's all right'. It makes me feel better that people are concerned."

She had tried to contact her fellow villa residents to see how they're feeling.

"The main feelings are being worried, depressed, very isolated and sad for those who have gone into hospital."

Villa residents were hoping for more communication on what was happening.

Mr Price said it was a difficult situation.

"We're doing letterbox drops to them. We can't talk to them [face-to-face] because there's a chance of cross-contamination. We have a home-care team making house calls and telephone calls."

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