A super-spreader party in Sydney’s south-east has threatened to send the city’s beachside suburbs into an even tougher lockdown after 16 of the revellers at the illegal gathering tested positive to Covid-19.
Health officials have warned there were as many as 60 revellers at a party in Maroubra, with some of the partygoers then quickly spreading the virus onto their close contacts.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard hit out at the party’s ‘selfish’ attendees after the 16 infections were revealed among a pandemic-record 825 cases found state-wide on Saturday.
NSW on Saturday registered its worst day of Covid cases Australia has seen during the global pandemic with a staggering 825 new infections, including 16 from an illegal party in Maroubra which has acted a super-spreader event. Pictured are beachgoers in Bondi on Saturday
Premier Gladys Berejiklian lamented the ‘catastrophic consequences’ of the minority doing the wrong thing in the community, and NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said people breaking the laws and attending illegal parties are playing roulette with the state’s future
‘Each of these people who are going to these functions must understand that they run the risk of either having the virus and transmitting it or getting the virus and taking it home to their families and their communities,’ Mr Hazzard said.
‘There is no time now to be selfish — it’s time to think of the broader community and your families. If you are actually spreading the virus, you could be responsible for peoples’ deaths.’
Sydney’s latest outbreak of the Delta strain of Covid-19 began in the city’s eastern suburbs when a limousine driver tested positive to the virus.
But the cluster of cases has since spread to the west and south-western suburbs, with Sydney’s east exempt from 9pm to 5am curfews now being enforced in 12 local government areas of concern.
NSW’s 825 cases on Saturday is the worst daily rise in new Covid-19 cases in Australia during the entire pandemic.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the record high numbers in her daily Covid press conference as Sydney enters its ninth week of lockdown, lamenting the ‘catastrophic consequences’ of the minority doing the wrong thing in the community.
Sydney’s latest outbreak of the Delta strain has since spread to the city’s west and south-western suburbs. Pictured are two people exercising in the city’s western suburbs
‘This is nothing Australia has seen before. Even in very strict and harsh lockdowns, the virus is spreading,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘That is a fact. What we need to do is protect ourselves and loved ones by staying at home and getting vaccinated.’
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said those breaking the laws and attending illegal parties are playing roulette with the state’s future.
‘There are those amongst us who don’t seem to give a damn. They are out attending parties, they are out doing what they have been told not to do, facilitating the spread of the virus,’ he said.
‘I would just say to them, you are ransoming our future, you are making sure that none of us can get back to a normal life.’
Meanwhile, police officers have flooded the Sydney’s CBD amid fears another anti-lockdown protest will break out like the one that embarrassed the city in July.
‘There is no time now to be selfish — it’s time to think of the broader community and your families. If you are actually spreading the virus, you could be responsible for peoples’ deaths,’ Mr Hazzard said to reporters
More than 1,500 officers were stationed at various points around the city including train stations and major roads to ensure there isn’t a repeat of the July 24 ‘freedom’ rally.
Authorities have suspended all trains running into the city in an attempt to quash people entering the CBD, particularly from Sydney’s west and south-west.
‘Until 2pm today, trains will not stop at Redfern, Town Hall, Martin Place, Wynyard, Circular Quay, St James and Museum due to a police operation,’ NSW Police said.
Taxi and rideshare services will again be shut out of the city between 9am and 3pm, with companies facing fines of up to half a million dollars if they take passengers to the CBD and surrounds.
Police officers have flooded Sydney’s CBD amid fears of another anti-lockdown protest, with public transport and ride-share services all banned from entering the CBD to stop people gathering
Premier Berejiklian pleaded for residents of NSW to follow orders and stay at home as the state reels from its worst day.
‘I extend my deepest appreciation for the vast majority of people doing the right thing, the vast majority get its important to stay at home… I receive messages every day from people who express their personal circumstances about how difficult it is,’ she said on Saturday morning.
‘It really breaks my heart… but the bottom line is they know they are doing it for the greater good.
‘I appeal to everybody, please consider the greater good. Only a handful of people are doing the wrong thing but it is having catastrophic consequences.’