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A Covid alert has been issued for a popular barbershop in Sydney’s northern beaches, just hours after the premier admitted restrictions likely won’t be relaxed this week.
Anyone who visited the Groomsmen Barbershop at Warriewood Square on January 6 between 11.30am and 12pm must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Gladys Berejiklian said on Tuesday said coronavirus restrictions in Greater Sydney will stay in place for at least another week, as the state recorded five new local cases.
Masks were made mandatory and home gatherings were limited to five visitors after an outbreak on the Northern Beaches of Sydney was identified on December 16 and another cluster emerged in western Sydney on December 29.
Anyone who visited the Groomsmen Barbershop at Warriewood Square on January 6 between 11.30am and 12pm must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received
New South Wales has recorded five new local cases of coronavirus as Gladys Berejiklian warns the disease is ‘bubbling away in the community’
Asked if any rules would be relaxed this week, the premier said: ‘Unlikely given where we’re at, because we’re still mopping up.
‘We’re still seeing community transmission. Even though in most instances, the household contacts or people are already in isolation, but we have had a couple of examples where they’re still unlinked, and that’s always a concern.’
She added: ‘I doubt there will be an easing of restrictions. But if the health advice changes on that, we will, of course, do that.’
Of the five new local cases on Tuesday, one case is linked to western Sydney’s Berala cluster and is a close contact of a previously reported case.
Two cases, from the Northern Beaches, are household contacts of each other and the source of their infections is under investigation.
A man in his 40s who went to Mount Druitt Hospital’s Emergency Department on Saturday and his close household contact have also tested positive, with the source of their infections under investigation.
The hospital was closed for cleaning on Monday morning and has now re-opened.
Eleven cases were also recorded in returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
There were only 14,738 tests reported to 8pm on Monday night, compared with the previous day’s total of 18,570, prompting calls for residents to get tested in greater numbers.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard asked multicultural families in Sydney to stick to the rules on family gatherings, which are capped at five visitors to homes.
‘I call on community leaders in western Sydney to make sure that the various multicultural communities, our wonderful multicultural communities that make up this fabulous nation, get the message to their communities to stick to the limits at the moment, listen to the public health advice,’ he said.
‘I know it’s great to have large families around but it’s proved challenging in the last few weeks,’ he added.
Ms Berejiklian hit back at Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan after he called for greater restrictions in NSW by saying: ‘The idea that you tick along with the virus and somehow that is a better model is wrong.’
The premier said elimination was not possible because Australians have to be allowed to return from overseas where the disease is rampant.
‘Anyone who thinks we’re going to eliminate or eradicate this disease, unfortunately doesn’t appreciate what the pandemic means,’ she said.
Digital signs encourage customers to wear face masks at Westfield Bondi Junction in Sydney
She also criticised Mr McGowan for shutting his state’s borders to any jurisdiction that suffers just one Covid-19 case.
‘I don’t believe keeping your borders closed and inflicting pain and suffering on thousands of people is the way to go,’ she said.
‘In New South Wales, we want our citizens to live as freely as possible, to maintain their livelihoods as much as possible. But in a Covid-safe way. And that’s always been our objective.’
Ms Berejiklian said she was disappointed that Mr McGowan didn’t seem to appreciate that NSW has accepted about half of all arrivals from overseas since March.
‘I think that no doubt each state premier has their views of the world. We don’t all agree on everything, which is fine. But I think respect goes a long way,’ she said.
‘And I think just appreciating what New South Wales has done on behalf of Australia in terms in returning 100,000 travellers is a big deal. That’s why overnight, we had 11 cases in quarantine,’ she said.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro hit back even harder on Tuesday morning, telling Mr McGowan to ‘stop lecturing’.
‘For Mark McGowan, it’s easy. He puts up the borders in Western Australia, cuts off the rest of the nation,’ he told 2GB radio.
In Tuesday’s press briefing, Ms Berejiklian hit back at Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan (pictured)
‘We’ve had Covid deaths in this nation but we’re going to have more deaths from mental health from people locked away in isolation, people not being able to reunite with family and [that’s what] Mark McGowan stands for.
‘I’m happy to say that this morning and have a go straight back at him. Stop lecturing, look after your own backyard.’
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack, who is filling in while Scott Morrison is on a week of leave, also said Mr McGowan has an easier job than other premiers.
‘Western Australia and NSW are very different states. Look at the NSW border, for instance, there are 57 bridges and openings across to Victoria. The Tweed River area with Queensland is just a massive economic area.
‘Western Australia doesn’t have anything like that, so it’s easier for Western Australia to shut its borders and keep them shut tight.’
