2,577,813
Of the 44 locally acquired cases reported to 8pm last night, 21 are from south-west Sydney, eight are from south-east Sydney and seven are from western Sydney. Transmission in these areas continues to be of great concern.
Four further cases have been recorded to 8pm last night linked to a gathering at the Meriton Suites Waterloo on Saturday 26 June. These cases were contacts of people who attended the gathering and bring the total number of cases linked to this venue to 25.
One new case to 8pm last night is a non-clinical staff member at Waratah Private Hospital in Hurstville who worked for two days while infectious, on Monday 5 and Tuesday 6 July.
Gladys Berejiklian tightens restrictions in Greater Sydney as NSW records 44 new COVID cases
The premier suggested Greater Sydney s COVID lockdown would be extended beyond next Friday as NSW faces its biggest challenge since the beginning of the pandemic, with 44 new infections recorded.
Zoe ZaczekDigital Reporter
July 9, 2021 - 11:00AM
New South Wales has recorded 44 new coronavirus cases - the highest number of local infections in the state during the latest outbreak - as Premier Gladys Berejiklian tightened restrictions and a major police operation began in Sydney s south-west.
Ms Berejiklian on Friday said the numbers are going to go up in the next few days as 29 of the new cases were in the community while infectious.
An employee of a Sydney Superstore has been confirmed as COVID-19 positive leaving over 2000 at risk dailymail.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from dailymail.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
On Thursday night, a NSW Health lab detected the B1.351 variant in PCR samples from the four family members who had recently flown in from South Africa.
Further testing is underway to confirm the cases, but as a precaution all 16 passengers who shared their flight from South Africa to Sydney have been moved to Special Health Accommodation, where all COVID-positive travellers are quarantined. There are concerns that this South African strain does share a similar mutation from the UK that may be associated with increased transmissibility. That is why we are taking a very cautious approach there, Dr Chant said.
Some of the mutations are associated with increased transmissibility, and obviously we need to be vigilant for other impacts of the viruses as they change. This is a normal part of the evolution. It is what we expect virus to do, but it is important that we therefore take a very precautionary approach.
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COVID-19 patients will not be released from isolation until at least 14 days after their symptom onset, and they will get tested at the end of their isolation period. It is important to note that some people still can have remnants of the virus for a long time, so we will use an expert panel to ensure we are not releasing cases that are infectious and that will require more intensive testing if anyone still remains [positive], Dr Chant said.