Five Woolworths supermarkets, a Coles and a ritzy apartment building have been declared Covid exposure sites, as Sydney’s long list of flagged venues continues to spiral.
There were 28 venues and three busy public transport routes added by New South Wales Health late on Sunday night, with most alerts issued for Covid-ravaged suburbs in south-west Sydney.
It comes as NSW braces for another day of triple digit daily cases after 105 new locally acquired infections were reported on Sunday, bringing the total number of transmissions to 1,242 since the outbreak began on June 16.
In just the past month, Sydney has recorded more cases than it did during the entire first wave of coronavirus last year.
Both the hotel and residential section of the Parramatta Skye Suites Apartments (pictured) were declared exposure sites
In just the past month, Sydney has recorded more cases than it did during the entire first wave of coronavirus last year (pictured, locals in the city’s Centennial Park on Sunday)
The public health alert for the Skye apartment building was issued for Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday
Both the hotel and residential section of the Parramatta Skye Suites Apartments were included in the late-night alerts, sending hundreds of residents into isolation.
Anyone who attended the hotel side of the apartment block on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday is considered a close contact and is urged to get tested and self isolate until they received a negative result.
Those on the residential side are on the same days are told to monitor their health and immediately get tested and isolate, if even the mildest symptoms appear.
Fairfield Coles at the Forum Shopping Centre has also been put on alert for anyone who visited on Tuesday July 13, between 11.20am to 11.45am.
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Shoppers that attended during this time are considered close contacts and must immediately get tested and self isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
There were over a dozen public health alerts issued for the Fairfield area with Rugs 4 Style, Fairfield Forum Pharmacy and Sinbad Market all added to the growing list.
Meanwhile a staggering five Woolworth supermarkets were also declared exposure sites, including one on Sydney’s Lower North Shore.
Anyone who attended Crows Nest Woolworths on Saturday July 10 between 11.15am and 12.30pm, and again on Tuesday July 13 from 10.15am to 11.30am, is considered a casual contact.
The other Woolworths stores flagged include supermarkets at Green Valley, Fairfield Heights, Carnes Hill Woolworths and Fairfield.
Fairfield Coles (pictured) was added to the growing list of Sydney’s Covid exposure sites
Woolworths in Fairfield heights (pictured) was among five Woolworths supermarkets flagged by NSW Health
Of the new cases reported on Sunday, 66 are linked to a known case or cluster with 55 household contacts and 11 close contacts.
There are 39 further cases that still remain under investigation.
‘Sixty-nine cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and seven cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period,’ NSW Health said.
‘Twenty-seven cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of two cases remains under investigation.’
Sunday’s figures also included the death of a woman in her 90s from southeast Sydney who sadly succumbed to the virus on Saturday.
‘There are currently 76 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 18 people in intensive care, seven of whom require ventilation,’ NSW Health said.
A graph of all the new cases over the last week and the updated daily averages illustrates that infections are still on the rise
There were 1,233 cases in Sydney’s first Covid outbreak between March and May, including the passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship. Cases in this outbreak has now surpassed that (pictured, testing in Fairfield West on Sunday)
Sydney is now suffering through its biggest Covid outbreak of the entire pandemic with more cases in a month than the entire first wave.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has repeatedly warned the Indian Delta variant of the virus posed the greatest threat the state has faced thus far.
She again warned ‘this strain is unlike anything we’ve ever seen’ just 24 hours after admitting she ‘can’t remember a time when our state has been challenged to such an extent’.
NSW spent six weeks in lockdown from mid-March 2020 along with the rest of the nation as the federal government drew up a plan to stop the virus nation wide.
The state faced several Covid crises, from the Ruby Princess outbreak to cases spreading from the Crossroads Hotel in Casula and most recently a cluster in the Northern Beaches, which forced all residents north of the Spit Bridge into lockdown.
In total, NSW has recorded 6,833 Covid cases across the entire 18 months the virus has been a threat, including those acquired overseas.
But 1,242 of those cases were recorded in just four short weeks since the current cluster was first reported on June 16.
In contrast, there were 1,233 cases in Sydney’s first Covid outbreak between February and May, including the passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
The first wave ended on May 25 when NSW’s run of zero transmission days began, and ended on June 5 when a truck driver started an outbreak visiting the Crossroads Hotel in Casula on a run from virus-plagued Melbourne.
Between June and November 2020, 625 NSW residents caught the virus locally as that outbreak bubbled away but was contained without harsh restrictions.
While the virus initially spread from Bondi and Sydney’s east, the southwest is now considered the epicenter of the virus (pictured, preparing for a sunrise swim in Manly on Sunday)
Most concerning for authorities is the difficulty they’re having in dragging the curve down as they beg Sydneysiders to comply with regulations (pictured, Sydneysiders over the weekend)
During the Northern Beaches cluster of late 2020 to early 2021, 151 cases were officially linked to the initial source of infection, but over that period of time, 226 people across the state were infected.
Those numbers are well below the 1,242 already identified in the last four weeks – and the outbreak is still on the rise.
The virus initially spread from Bondi and Sydney’s east, but the southwest is now considered the epicentre of the virus.
Of the 105 cases reported on Sunday, 79 were diagnosed in the local government areas of Fairfield, Liverpool or Canterbury.
Most concerning for authorities is the difficulty they’re having in dragging the curve down.
A graph of all the new cases over the past seven days and the updated daily averages illustrates that infections are still gradually increasing – albeit slower than two weeks ago.
The number of new daily cases appeared to peak on July 12 at 112 when infections hovered between 65 and 97 in the four days to follow.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has repeatedly warned the Delta variant of the virus poses the greatest threat we’ve faced thus far
But hopes were dashed on Saturday when the state recorded 111 cases – followed by a second consecutive day of triple figures with 105 new diagnoses on Sunday.
Ms Berejiklian repeatedly said numbers would continue to ‘bounce around’ as contact tracers work to stay on top of the virus’ spread.
With the daily average increasing by about 10 each day over the last week alone, it’s clear authorities are struggling to keep up.
Less than a week ago on July 10, the daily average was 32.5 new cases.
But in just six days, that number has more than doubled to 83.8 new cases by Friday. Average cases appear to be trending up by about 10 each day.
As of Sunday, the daily average case number is 96.5.