NSW Covid update: 262 local cases, one death and 12 extra Sydney suburbs subject to harsher restrictions
NSW has reported 262 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19, with large numbers infectious in the community, and has announced tougher restrictions in Penrith to prevent spread in Sydney’s west.
An unvaccinated woman in her 80s at the Wyoming Nursing Home in Summer Hill has died, authorities announced on Sunday, taking the toll for the current Delta outbreak to at least 28.
Greater Sydney and surrounding regions are in lockdown until at least 28 August as the state government battles to contain the growing outbreak. The NSW Hunter and Armidale region are also enduring snap week-long lockdowns, while three more cases were recorded on the Central Coast, all of whom were linked to known cases.
Almost 50 people from Sunday’s numbers were in the community for their entire infectious period while the isolation status of 104 remains under investigation. Just 86 were confirmed as being in isolation for all of their infectious period with 26 isolating part of the time.
The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said on Sunday that 12 suburbs in the Penrith local government area would be added to the “areas of concern” list prompting harsher restrictions for local residents. In better news, the Georges River council area may soon be taken off the list.
Those in the 12 suburbs near Penrith now can only go within 5km of their home to obtain food or other goods and services and exercise. Travel to other areas for work is not permitted – except for authorised workers. Masks must be worn outdoors at all times except in common property like the back yard of an apartment block.
“As we have seen in the past few days, the numbers are bouncing around a bit but clearly we need to reduce those numbers,” Berejiklian said. “I urge everybody to please stick to the rules, the health advice, and only leave home if you absolutely have to.”
There are 58 patients in NSW in intensive care with 24 of them being ventilated. Five of those in intensive care are in their 20s, seven are in their 30s, four in their 40s, and 17 are in their 50s.
“So young people are certainly getting caught up with this disease,” Dr Jeremy McAnulty, a senior NSW Health official, said.
Despite the reduced case numbers on Sunday, Berejiklian was quick to warn that numbers would continue to bounce around. There was no clear downward trend, she said. But the government was pleased numbers were not growing exponentially.
“We certainly have not seen that, which is one positive, but obviously the trend is that if you have successive days of a reduction in numbers, we don’t have that yet,” she said. “It is only a day.”
The vast majority in intensive care, 54 people, are unvaccinated.
Berejiklian declared the effort to vaccinate the state was “a race” and urged residents to come forward and get the jab. She said the state was tracking well towards its target of 6m doses by late August.
The premier said if that target was hit, it could allow some easing of restrictions, though life would not quickly return to a pre-outbreak state in NSW.
Berejiklian nominated getting faceto-face learning and employees back to workplaces as priorities when the advice did recommend an easing of restrictions.
Meanwhile, hundreds of young adults in Sydney have waited hours to receive an AstraZeneca jab as the outbreak shows no signs of abating.
As the health minister, Brad Hazzard, on Saturday urged all residents to “stay home and get vaccinated”, hundreds flocked to a walk-in vaccine clinic requiring no GP referral in Glebe.
NSW Health brought on eight extra vaccinators throughout the day to help shorten a queue running more than 100 metres. The centre vaccinated almost 1,000 people during the three days it was open.
More than 100 people were still waiting in line when it was scheduled to close at 4pm on Saturday. They all received their vaccination, according to the Sydney Local Health District.
The centre was one of five walk-in locations open across Sydney’s inner west, west and south-west.
About 45% of NSW residents over 16 have been vaccinated against Covid-19 at least once, up from 40.9% a week ago.