A massive new testing push is underway in New South Wales after 17 new COVID-19 cases were identified in the 24 hours to Monday.
NSW Health has warned anyone in the suburbs of Harris Park and Middleton Grange to monitor for symptoms and get tested even if they have the mildest of symptoms.
The warning for the two suburbs, home to about 10,000 residents, follows a number of clusters of coronavirus being identified in Sydney’s southwest.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the spike in cases on Monday.
Eight of the positive tests have been linked to known clusters while another eight were returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
Nine were local transmissions and two cases remain under investigation.
‘We are holding the line and doing okay, but are still on high alert,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘But we cannot let our guard down. That’s how the virus will take hold and spread.’
She urged residents to remain vigilant with social distancing to ensure we can ‘continue to have this level of freedom’.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian urged residents to remain vigilant with social distancing to ensure we can ‘continue to have this level of freedom’
The recent spike in cases in Sydney prompted a tightening of restrictions by the NSW Premier, especially on hospitality venues with hundreds of ‘COVID army’ officers conducting checks on the weekend (pictured)
A coronavirus cluster in Sydney has been linked a woman who attended five funeral services including one at St Brendan’s Church in Bankstown (pictured)
A staff member from Potts Point Thai Rock restaurant (pictured) tested positive for COVID-19
There are now two cases linked to the Thai Rock Restaurant at Potts Point after a diner who visited the restaurant on July 17 tested positive last week.
A staff member has now also become a confirmed case and investigations to date have not identified links between cases at the two restaurants.
The staff member is not included in the three cases linked to Thai Rock Wetherill Park on Monday.
NSW Health directed anyone who attended the Potts Point restaurant for more than two hours between July 15 and July 25 to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days since they were last there, regardless of symptoms.
The outbreak cluster from Thai Rock restaurant in Wetherill Park (pictured) continues to grow
Hundreds of ‘COVID army’ officers (pictured) have been out inspecting venues and issuing fines to those found in breach of restrictions
A couple who tested positive for COVID-19 following the Bankstown funeral gathering attended Tan Viet Noodle House in Cabramatta, which is also known as Crispy Chicken Noodle House, between 1pm and 2pm on July 22 and An Restaurant in Bankstown between 9am and 11am on July 23.
Anyone who attended these venues is asked to watch for symptoms and get tested if symptoms appear.
A case linked to the funeral cluster is a student at Georges River Grammar School in Georges Hall in Sydney’s south-west.
Fans during the Round 11 NRL match between the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the St George Illawarra Dragons at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Sydney on Saturday
A woman wearing a face mask shelters from the rain during wet weather at Circular Quay in Sydney on Sunday
The school is closed for cleaning, and close contacts are being directed to self-isolate.
NSW chief medical officer Dr Kerry Chant told reporters on Monday there were 101 COVID-19 cases being treated by NSW Health.
Five people are in intensive care, with 90 per cent of cases in out-of-hospital care.
Dr Chant also urge anyone in the Harris Park and Middleton Grange areas to monitor for symptoms and get tested even if they have the mildest of symptoms.
Ms Berejiklian implored the public to not take part in the Black Lives Matter protests planned for Tuesday.
‘A pandemic isn’t the time to do this… please use your energy in a different way,’ she told reporters on Monday.
As the cases in Sydney continue to grow, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is threatening to ‘slam the border shut’ and ban all New South Wales residents from entering the state.
‘If there are outbreaks of community transmission or it cannot be sourced or there are clusters, we will not hesitate to declare hotspots or we will not hesitate – if it gets out of control – to slam the border shut,’ she told reporters on Monday.
Liverpool and Campbelltown in NSW are also declared hotspots, as is the entire state of Victoria.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she’s ready and willing to close Queensland’s borders to all of NSW again
It comes as more NSW residents will be blocked from entering Queensland from Monday, as the Fairfield area in Sydney is declared a hotspot. Pictured: Cars arriving from NSW are checked by police at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast
Current travel restrictions will prevent more than 600,000 Sydney residents from entering the Sunshine State.
Ms Palaszczuk said any decisions on further hotspots or border closures will be made on the advice of Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.
‘That advice has stood Queensland in a very good position,’ the premier said.
‘Every single day we are monitoring the situation in NSW.’
Queensland recorded no new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours and there are just five active cases in the state.
It follows the winding back of some freedoms in Queensland restaurants, pubs and clubs.
All patrons will have to be seated when drinking or eating, the CHO announced on Friday, blindsiding the hospitality industry.