New South Wales has recorded 291 new local cases of COVID-19 - the most it has recorded in a single day during this outbreak.
However, the Australian state is bracing for the number of infections to increase dramatically in the coming days. Of the 291 local cases, at least 50 were infectious while in the community.
"I do want to foreshadow that given this high number of cases, we are likely to see this trend continue for the next few days so everybody prepare themselves for higher case numbers in the next few days," says Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
The source of infection for 171 of the cases is under investigation while 120 have been linked to a known cluster.
"Sadly, NSW Health has been notified of the death of a person with COVID-19. A woman in her 60s from south-west Sydney died at Liverpool Hospital. We extend our sincere sympathies to her loved ones," NSW Health says.
"There are currently 304 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 50 people in intensive care, 22 of whom require ventilation."
The state has now seen 22 deaths during this outbreak, which began in Bondi in June. There have been 4610 local cases recorded since this outbreak kicked off.
At her daily press conference on Friday, Berejiklian pushed residents to get vaccinated as soon as they could, saying the more people who get vaccinated, "the sooner we will be able to live more freely".
She said it is in the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area - found in south-west Sydney - that cases are increasing the most.
"There will be more police on the ground, we are seeing too many people frequent certain shopping areas and perhaps not doing the right thing, so police will be more present in the Canterbury-Bankstown local area to ensure compliance and we have to make sure that happens, because we don't want to see these case numbers continue to grow into the next few weeks."
Queensland on Friday recorded 10 new local cases, while Victoria has six cases. It entered a snap lockdown on Thursday night in response to new cases.
