New South Wales has recorded 10 new local cases of coronavirus including only one mystery case.
Five of the cases were directly linked to the Avalon cluster, three were members of the Croydon cluster and one was linked to a transport worker who drove hotel quarantine patients.
A tenth case, from Western Sydney, is under investigation but Gladys Berejiklian said there’s a chance it’s an old case or a false positive.
There were 27,894 tests reported to 8pm on Thursday night, compared with the previous day’s total of 17,267.
The Avalon cluster now includes 144 patients and the Croydon cluster now has nine. Officials are still baffled about the source of both clusters, which have not been linked to each other.
Ms Berejiklian said she was happy the case numbers are lower than Wednesday’s 18 but warned more will be recorded.
‘So pleasingly we have seen the numbers go down today but it’s very volatile. They’re going to bounce around and what is really important is for all of us to do everything we can to reduce our mobility,’ she said.
A nurse tests a patient in Wollongong on Wednesday after two mystery cases were recorded in the area. Sydney has now suffered 160 cases since 16 December
On Wednesday Premier Berejiklian tightened restrictions ahead of New Year’s Eve with only five visitors allowed to Sydney homes as New South Wales recorded 18 new coronavirus cases.
Wednesday’s cases included three adults and three children from the same extended family who made up a fresh unlinked cluster sparked in Croydon, inner-west Sydney.
Those infected are from three households based in south-western Sydney, inner-west Sydney and another part of Sydney, Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
Dr Chant revealed she is worried that the Croydon cluster has not been linked to the Avalon cluster, saying: ‘At this moment we have not found a link to the Northern Beaches despite 24 hours of really intensive investigations. It’s not to say we won’t, but at this stage, that is concerning.’
Two further mystery cases are members of the same household from Wollongong and another unlinked case is from northern Sydney.
There were an additional seven cases in hotel quarantine, taking Wednesday’s total to 25.
Due to the concerning increase in mystery cases, Premier Berejiklian limited the number of household visitors allowed in Greater Sydney to five, down from 10.
Outdoor gatherings have also been reduced to 30, down from 50.
‘Our preferred advice is that people just stay home for New Year’s Eve, but if you must have people over, don’t have more than five and please make sure you have adequate social distancing and good ventilation,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
Four new venues have been visited by positive cases including an Open Air Cinema screening of Prom at Lady Macquarie’s Chair on Thursday. Everyone who attended is being asked to get tested and isolate until negative.
Ms Berejiklian said she expected the cluster to grow, adding: ‘When you had a large concentration of cases, you do expect during the process you’re going to have those household contacts in isolation get the virus and obviously that pushes up the numbers.
‘I’m expecting the numbers to bounce around for several weeks. But what we don’t want to see is new chains of transmission that we don’t know about.’
Due to the concerning increase in mystery cases, Premier Berejiklian (pictured on Wednesday) has limited the number of household visitors allowed in Greater Sydney to five, down from 10
New South Wales has recorded 18 new local cases of coronavirus. Pictured: Fireworks are prepared for New Years Eve in Sydney
Disease expert Professor Raina MacIntyre of UNSW said more cases will be recorded after the infection spread at Christmas Day gatherings.
‘NSW is not in the clear yet. The greatest danger period is the first two weeks of January, and we will have to see what happens then,’ she told Daily Mail Australia.
However, federal chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said it’s too early for a lockdown and praised New South Wales Health for excellent contact tracing.
‘They are onto this, they were onto it immediately when that first case came forward and well done for them coming forward and getting a test, and now we need to wait and see,’ he said.
He said the new gathering restrictions were ‘appropriate’ and said NSW will consider any lockdown in the New Year.
‘I know the Chief Health Officer in New South Wales will be looking at this very carefully in coming days and make that proportionate decision, weighing up risks and benefits, which, of course, they need to,’ he said.
The Wollongong cases have sparked close-contact health alerts for two Greek Orthodox churches in the city dating back to December 27 – St Nektarios Church and The Holy Cross Church.
Casual contact alerts also apply for several venues at Figtree, including Figtree Grove Shopping Centre, Mona Vale and Wollongong.
Residents have been lining up in large numbers outside Wollongong Hospital to be tested since Tuesday.
The increase in cases prompted the ACT to extend its border closure to Sydney residents for another week. Victoria said it would not open its border ‘anytime soon.’
Even though outdoor gatherings are limited to 30, Dr Chant said Test match next week is safe to hold with 24,000 spectators because it is seated and ticketed.
‘We will be handing out masks on public transport going into the SCG, and advising people to wear masks when they are not physically at their seat.
‘We also are asking people to ensure that they recognise around screaming and chanting, particularly when they are not in their fixed location. But 50 per cent occupancy ensures spacing and if people are staying in a fixed location.’
On Tuesday Ms Berejiklian urged Greater Sydney residents to get tested after 16,000 people got swabbed on Tuesday, down from 70,000 on Thursday.
She said ‘Greater Sydney must be on high alert’ until the source of new mystery cases is found.
‘I say that in order to encourage as many people as possible across the state, even if you live in the regions, if you have the mildest of symptoms please come forward to get tested,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
On Monday the premier tightened restrictions for gatherings across Sydney as the state recorded five new cases.
The northern zone of the Northern Beaches will remain locked down until January 9 to stop the spread of Covid-19. The southern zone will be released from lockdown on January 2
The iconic 12-minute midnight firework display (pictured last year), which is normally attended by a million people and watched around the world, has been shortened to seven minutes
Premier Berejiklian said officials still don’t know how the outbreak began, meaning the northern zone of the Northern Beaches will remain locked down until January 9 to stop the disease spreading – but residents will be allowed five visitors from the zone on New Year’s Eve.
The southern zone will be released from lockdown on January 2 – but residents are allowed 10 visitors from the zone on December 31.
Thousands of firefighters, nurses and other frontline workers from across the state were due to watch the New Year’s Eve fireworks around the Harbour Bridge as a reward for their hard work during such a difficult year – but Premier Berejiklian said another time will be found to thank them.
The iconic 12-minute midnight firework display, which is normally attended by a million people and watched around the world, has been shortened to seven minutes this year to save money during the pandemic.
The premier has told residents to avoid the city centre, saying the decades-old tradition of camping around the harbour to secure a good view is banned.
‘We’re trying to be as generous as possible, but we don’t want to create any superspreading events on New Year’s Eve, that ruins it for everyone,’ she said.
Anyone entering the CBD will need to have a pass from Service NSW to prove they have a booking at a restaurant or are visiting a friend’s home.
The government has also ordered local councils to scrap events unless they can be seated and ticketed outside, with a record of attendees kept.
Some 15,000 NSW residents got tested on Sunday. Pictured: Testing in Bondi last week
Plans to allow about 5,000 frontline workers to watch the fireworks from vantage points around the Sydney Harbour have been scrapped. Pictured: Fireworks in 2020
Dr Chant urged residents who want to throw a small party at home to consider hosting barbecues outside.
‘If you can have a barbecue or go to a park or you got an area such as a reserve, that is a safer environment than having people congregate,’ she said.
‘If you have the mildest of symptoms, do not attend any of those events whether they’re indoors or outdoors.
‘The last thing you want to do is be responsible for spreading Covid to your loved ones and the broader community,’ she added.
Premier Berejiklian urged residents to avoid kissing and hugging relatives and friends outside their household.
‘When the clock ticks over to midnight from 31 December to 1 January, I know that’s normally an emotional time where we like to kiss and hug everybody around us. Can I ask for absolute restraint,’ she said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has tightened restrictions ahead of New Year’s Eve. Pictured: Bondi Beach on Sunday
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