NSW has broken another daily Covid-19 record with 1,533 new cases and four deaths recorded overnight.
A western Sydney man in his 60s, a south-west woman in her 80s, a western man in his 50s, and a south-west man in his 70s are the latest residents to die from the virus. They were all unvaccinated.
The 1,533 new cases announced on Saturday smash the record 1,431 cases that were reported on Friday.
The figures are a grim addition to the growing outbreak that has claimed the life of a mother-of-four.
Jamila Yaghi died on Wednesday evening, Granville MP Julia Finn said on Facebook. She was in her 30s and had not been vaccinated.
‘Jamila lived in Guildford until recently and was deeply engaged in the community. She leaves behind four children and an extended family and many, many friends who loved her dearly,’ Ms Finn wrote on Friday.
A friend remembered Ms Yaghi as ‘one of a kind’ on social media, describing her as someone ‘who had the most amazing heart’ and brought laughter and joy to people’s lives.
More than 7,245,450 vaccine doses have been administered in NSW, taking the state to 71.5 per cent first-dose coverage and 39.5 per cent double-dose
Ms Berejiklian is warning the public to be prepared for hospitals to be operating under crisis conditions in the coming months, but says the onslaught has been planned for and people will get the care they need
Jamila Yaghi died on Wednesday evening, Granville MP Julia Finn said on Facebook. She was in her 30s and had not been vaccinated
Deputy NSW Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale told reporters on Friday the woman was tested on Tuesday before dying the next day.
At least nine people have died at home in western Sydney or southwest Sydney during the current outbreak, which began in mid-June.
Ms Yaghi’s was one of 12 deaths announced by Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday, the highest daily death toll the state has seen in the pandemic.
The death toll for the current NSW outbreak is 119.
The state reported 1,431 new locally-acquired cases on Friday, another daily record.
Case numbers are expected to get worse for the next two weeks, putting the health system under incredible pressure in October, before they start to ease off.
That’s also the month some restrictions are likely to be lifted as the state hits the 70 per cent double-dose vaccine target.
More than 7,245,450 vaccine doses have been administered in NSW, taking the state to 71.5 per cent first-dose coverage and 39.5 per cent double-dose.
Ms Berejiklian is warning the public to be prepared for hospitals to be operating under crisis conditions in the coming months, but says the onslaught has been planned for and people will get the care they need.
‘Just because you hear about something done differently (in hospitals), I don’t want people to be concerned by that because that is what is in our pandemic plan,’ she said.
The 1,533 new cases announced on Saturday smash the record 1,431 cases that were reported on Friday
Greater Sydney has now been locked down for ten weeks and the rest of the state for almost three weeks
Ms Berejiklian is warning the public to be prepared for hospitals to be operating under crisis conditions in the coming months, but says the onslaught has been planned for and people will get the care they need
Meanwhile NSW government ministers and parliamentary secretaries will boycott sittings of the parliament’s upper house, essentially thwarting them, over concerns any meetings could be a super spreading event.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant wrote to the President of the Legislative Council and later met with representatives of all political parties in the upper house to note the significant risk of transmission in parliament and the risk of seeding in regional communities when MPs and staff return home.
The government position was that sittings should be deferred, as done for the lower house, but the President of the Legislative Council Matthew Mason Cox determined it is appropriate for the Legislative Council to sit, Leader of the House Damien Tudehope said.
‘At a time when we’re asking everyone in NSW to make sacrifices to keep us all safe, it is unprincipled and dangerous for politicians to reject the health advice to pursue their own political agenda,’ he said in a statement.
More than 7,245,450 vaccine doses have been administered in NSW, taking the state to 71.5 per cent first-dose coverage and 39.5 per cent double-dose
‘It is important for all community leaders to set an example, therefore ministers and parliamentary secretaries will not resume sitting until the health advice provides that it is safe to do so.’
According to Legislative Council rules, the upper house cannot meet unless a minister is present.
Opposition MPs have argued the sittings are essential to allow scrutiny of the government response to the current outbreak.
Greater Sydney has now been locked down for ten weeks and the rest of the state for almost three weeks.
The stay-at-home orders are in place for at least another week.
More to come