There are another 16 community COVID-19 cases in New South Wales, four of which do not have have any known link to previously reported cases.
There are now 31 cases linked to the growing Bondi cluster, NSW Health announced.
The concerning update has prompted a ramp-up in restrictions in Greater Sydney. These will come into effect from 4pm (local time), Premier Gladys Berijiklian says.
The restrictions include:
- No travel outside Sydney unless for essential work or visiting a relative in care.
- No more than five visitors in homes, including children.
- No vertical consumption at hospitality venues - seated service only.
- No singing or dancing except at weddings, where you can only have 20 people on the dancefloor at a time.
- The one-per-four-square-metre rule comes into force.
- Outdoor sporting event or outdoor concerts capped at 50 percent capacity, masks required.
- Gym classes still on, but capped at 20, and masks required.
Of the new cases announced on Wednesday, three were reported before the 8pm cutoff on Tuesday night and another 13 have come to light overnight.
The three cases identified before 8pm include a man in his 50s who works in Bondi Junction; a woman in her 40s from Wollongong; and a man in his 30s from South West Sydney. The latter two are close contacts of previously reported cases.
Of the 13 locally acquired cases detected overnight, eight are linked to a birthday party in West Hoxton that was attended by a previously reported case linked to the Bondi cluster. NSW Health says about 30 people attended this party and they have all been tested and are in isolation.
"A total of 10 people who attended the party have now tested positive for COVID-19, including a two-year-old child, who attended Little Zak’s childcare in Narellan Vale on 21 June."
Another of the 13 cases is linked to the Bondi cluster.
However four of the overnight cases are currently unlinked, with urgent investigations and contact tracing underway to establish how they got infected and to prevent further spread. Of these, one is the person who visited Wellington over the weekend.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Berijiklian said she couldn't rule out ramping up restrictions again in the future.
"I am not going to rule out further action, I am not going to rule out what happens beyond a week, because we don't know," she said.
"We certainly didn't expect this situation a few days ago. But that is what it means, responding to a pandemic means you look at the facts, you look at the response, you look at where spread has or hasn't occurred in and you act accordingly...
"We have listened to the health advice... If we need to take further action within the week or after the week, we are open to that, but we just don't know yet because the situation is evolving."
