New South Wales has recorded 452 new community COVID-19 cases and another death as the Australian state's latest coronavirus outbreak continues to balloon out of control.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the figures at a press briefing on Tuesday, revealing at least 50 of the new cases were active in the community while infectious. She said the source of many of the infections was unclear, with many still under investigation.
The day would've been the state's worst of the pandemic if not for Monday's horror day of 478 local cases and eight deaths - numbers Berejiklian described as "disturbingly high".
The death was in a woman in her late 70s who had not been vaccinated, with Berejiklian issuing a plea for those in that age group to get the jab as soon as possible. She says the vaccine rate in that group is "okay" but health officials want it to be higher.
She said the plan is for 70 percent of New South Wales residents to be fully vaccinated by the end of October, and 80 percent by mid-November.
"I want to make this very, very important point: life will be much freer than what it is today once we get to 70 and 80 percent," she said.
"It doesn't mean we'll be completely free. It doesn't mean that we will let the virus be rampant in the community no matter our number of cases. But it will be freer than it is today. I really want to stress that point."
Meanwhile the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) recorded another 17 cases on Tuesday, taking its cluster to 45 cases, with the state already under a snap lockdown.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said no one is in hospital with the virus but reminded residents it was "very early" in the outbreak. Non-essential businesses remain closed for now and financial support has been offered to them and affected workers.
The ACT'S Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said there are more than 7500 people quarantining at home and more than 80 potential exposure sites.
"Our case numbers are going to continue to grow," Barr warned.
It comes after Victoria reported 24 cases earlier in the day, up from 22 a day prior, following officials' decision on Monday to reinstate a curfew and extend Melbourne's lockdown.
Of the new cases, 21 were linked to outbreaks and 14 were in isolation throughout their infectious period.
Queensland also announced its daily numbers on Tuesday, with just one locally acquired case reported in home quarantine.
