Sydney Roosters and Swans players have undergone Covid tests while staff have been told to stay home after their regular cafe was visited by a man carrying the virus

Sydney Roosters and Swans players have undergone Covid tests while staff have been told to stay home after their regular cafe was visited by a man carrying the virus.

Roosters players were on Thursday morning rushed in for tests, 36 hours out from Friday night’s NRL clash with Parramatta.

The infected eastern suburbs man visited the Azure Cafe on Monday between 12.30 and 1pm, less than 100 metres from the Roosters’ headquarters.

The Moore Park cafe in the Entertainment Quarter is a popular coffee stop and lunch venue for both Roosters and Swans AFL players, as well as sports officials. 

Swans coach John Longmire visited the cafe outside the 12.30-1pm exposure time.He later tested negative. 

Assistant coaches Jarrad McVeigh, Dean Cox and Don Pyke attended the Azure Cafe on Monday at the same time the positive case visited, however they also returned a negative result.

All Swans players and staff have tested negative, but the club was reportedly considering an early flight to Melbourne ahead of Saturday night’s game against Melbourne so as not to be blocked from travel if the situation in Sydney deteriorated and the Victorian border closed.

All GWS Giants players and Buy Virtual Credit Card (VCC) & Best Digital Accounts – VCCSecure.Com staff have also been tested despite not having visited the exposure sites, but the AFL was putting in place contingency plans for the Saturday afternoon game to be shifted away from Giants Stadium if need be.

Should the NSW outbreak worsen and borders shut, the Swans and Giants may need to relocate to a hub in another state. 

Working in the Roosters’ favour is that players had been sent home early from training on Monday after confirmation of Brett Morris’ ACL injury.

It’s believed no Roosters were in the cafe at the time of the infected man. 

NRL Head of Football Graham Annesley said staff are doing everything they can to get ‘more information about the movement of players’.

‘We were alerted late Wednesday night and we will take all precautionary steps as soon as possible,’ he said.

Beyond Friday night’s game, Magic Round also now shapes as a serious concern.

All NRL teams are due to to head to Brisbane next week, with attention now centred on what Sydney’s first case of community transmission in months means for state borders.

Meanwhile, NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has been ordered to self isolate at home for 14 days after he was identified as a close contact of the eastern suburbs case.

Mr Perrottet returned a negative COVID-19 test and began isolating on Wednesday night.

He had visited the same CBD cafe as the man, who is in his 50s, on April 30. 

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned more locally-acquired Covid cases are likely following the man’s diagnosis. 

Ms Berejiklian on Wednesday said the man in his 50s has not recently travelled overseas, does not work in a hotel quarantine, border or a health role and has no idea where he caught the coronavirus.

He also has not recently travelled interstate.

The man’s positive result was recorded on Wednesday morning and NSW Health believe he has been infectious since last Friday.

‘We have to assume there’s other cases and our response will be proportionate as it always has been in NSW,’ Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

‘Everybody in the state needs to be on high alert.

‘Anybody anywhere with the mildest of symptoms needs to come forward and get tested.’

NSW Health contract tracers are working to identify any contacts and genome sequencing is underway, with results expected on Thursday.

The man has a number of close contacts who are being tested and are isolating, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says.

He also visited a number of venues while potentially infectious, she said, but had been meticulous about checking in using QR codes.

A list of venues of concern has been compiled which includes a number of barbecue stores in Silverwater, Annandale and Casula, a meat store in Bondi Junction and a petrol station in Mascot.

The man also attended a screening of The Courier at Event Cinemas Bondi Junction on Friday before attending Figo Restaurant at Rushcutters Bay.