Sydney clamps down

The Sydney outbreak is made up of an Indian variant of Covid19, but not a ‘‘variant of concern’’, NSW chief health officer Dr

Kerry Chant told Australian media. Restrictions have been announced for the Greater Sydney area in order to curb any potential spread of the virus.

No more than 20 visitors are allowed in people’s homes, including for weddings.

Mask-wearing at indoor places will be compulsory for the next two days, as well as on public transport and in supermarkets.

Also yesterday, extra screening measures were put in place for some trans-tasman flights to New Zealand, following a man testing positive for Covid-19 in Sydney.

From yesterday, all flights from Sydney to New Zealand are operating with additional passenger health screening in place before boarding, an Air New Zealand spokeswoman said.

The measures were put in place at the request of the Ministry of Health.

The screening asks whether the traveller has recently been in any locations of interest in NSW.

Australian officials confirmed the new community case in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon. NSW Health officials are reviewing CCTV footage to look at how the transmission occurred and raised concerns about the ‘‘missing’’ link between the two cases.