A woman in her late 30s who had no pre-existing health conditions has died of Covid overnight, as New South Wales records a further 141 new cases.
Of those new cases, 38 were infectious in the community.
A second woman, who was in her 70s and from southwest Sydney also died overnight.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the fatality involving the young woman should serve as a stark warning to the community that Covid does not discriminate.
The woman, who was from Sydney’s CBD, had no known health conditions that could have contributed to her death.
‘This is a horribly cruel disease, and that’s why our response has been so strong against it,’ she said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the fatality involving the young woman should serve as a stark warning to the community that Covid does not discriminate
There are major concerns that Saturday’s protests will prove to have been a super spreading event, and authorities are calling on the estimated 3,500 people who attended in Sydney to get a Covid test for the sake of the community
Ms Berejiklian delivered the update alongside Dr Jeremy McAnulty of NSW Health, giving chief health officer Kerry Chant a brief moment of reprieve from being the bearer of bad news to Sydneysiders.
The state’s current outbreak has now skyrocketed to 2,083 cases since June 16 with Sunday’s announcement.
While case numbers dropped on Sunday, officials are still concerned about the number of people in the community who are infectious.
There are major concerns that Saturday’s protests will prove to have been a super spreading event, and authorities are calling on the estimated 3,500 people who attended in Sydney to get a Covid test for the sake of the community.
‘It broke my heart,’ Ms Berejiklian said of seeing pictures of all the protesters and police response
‘I’m appealing to all 3,500 people to get tested tomorrow, if not for themselves for the sake of their family and friends,’ Police Minister David Elliott said.
In total, 57 demonstrators were charged during the event, but detectives are working round the clock to identify those who opted against wearing face masks in direct defiance of public health orders.
‘It broke my heart,’ Ms Berejiklian said of seeing pictures of all the protesters.
‘Millions of people across our state are doing the right thing and it broke my heart that people had such a disregard for their community. I’m disgusted.’
‘Thank you for the people doing the right thing and for those that aren’t.. you should be ashamed of yourselves.’
In total, 510 infringement notices were handed out on Saturday, most at the protests
In total, 510 infringement notices were handed out on Saturday. Most of these fines were distributed at the protests.
‘That number will continue to be high as investigations continue,’ Mr Elliott said. ‘That behaviour yesterday can only described as violent, filthy, risky behavior that police will continue to investigate.’
Ms Berejiklian wanted to clarify that the ‘vast majority’ of residents in New South Wales are doing the right thing, citing more than 102,000 tests in the last 24 hours alone.
On Saturday, police learned of a significant breach of public health orders in which a person who knew they were a close contact of a known case boarded a flight to Ballina on July 14.
The Virgin Australia flight arrived from Sydney about 11.45am and every other passenger is now considered a close contact and must isolate for 14 days.
Authorities said they were aware of the man’s identity and he has since tested positive to the virus.
The man told authorities he’d been isolating since July 10, when he was first notified that he was a workplace contact of a known case, but officials have since determined that ‘is not true’.
‘We are concerned about the nature and extent of his exposures on the flight and in the community both in New South Wales and in Queensland,’ authorities said on Sunday.
NSW Police are investigating the matter.
Ms Berejiklian also vowed that those who gathered for illegal demonstrations on Saturday would face ‘the full force of the law’.
‘I am utterly disgusted by the illegal protestors in the city today whose selfish actions have compromised the safety of all of us,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘The protesters have shown utter contempt for their fellow citizens who are currently doing it tough.’
Protesters were met by mounted police outside Town Hall in Sydney – with neither group prepared to back down
Ms Berejiklian thanked the ‘brave officers who put their safety on the line’.
‘This type of activity during lockdown will not be tolerated and the full force of the law will be brought against anyone who engages in this type of illegal activity.’
Mr Elliott earlier labelled those in the rallies as ‘boofheads’ and said 90 had been fined across the state with many more arrests expected.
‘What we saw today was 3,500 very selfish boofheads — people that thought the law didn’t apply to them,’ he said.
‘If we don’t see a [Covid] spike in the areas these protesters came from in the next week I’ll be very, very surprised,’ Elliott said.
‘It was just a whole lot of halfwits. There is no doubt in my mind that at least one individual there today had COVID, it is statistically impossible for us not to consider that.’