NSW has reported 452 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and one death, with at least 54 people circulating in the community for all or part of their infectious period.
An unvaccinated woman in her 70s from western Sydney died in Westmead Hospital after the state recorded eight deaths on Monday.Â
Southwest and western Sydney suburbs continue to be the main generators for most of the cases, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Tuesday.
The isolation status of 297 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday remains under investigation.
Some 75 per cent of cases in NSW were people under 40.
“And that’s why those extra jabs we receive from the Commonwealth will be put straight into the arms of 16-to-39-year-olds in the local government areas of concern,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters.
The premier said life would be “much freer than what it is today”, once the state reaches 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination targets.
The entire state is now locked down and a 21-day police blitz came into effect on Monday to enforce new regulations with almost 18,000 police officers supported by 800 members of the Australian Defence Force.
NSW police issued nearly 600 infringement notices to people flouting tough new health orders on the first day of a three-week crackdown as the state continues to report escalating coronavirus numbers.
Police also conducted 3800 welfare checks to see if people were following stay-at-home orders.
One COVID positive man from the hotspot of Fairfield in Sydney’s southwest wasn’t home when police arrived and was later unable to provide an excuse for his actions Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon told Nine Network on Tuesday.
Tougher non-compliance fines of up to $5000 are in place with people confined to within five kilometres of their homes.
Meanwhile, Sydney hospitals are dealing with staff shortages as COVID clusters send workers into isolation at Nepean and St George Hospitals.
A South Eastern Sydney Local Health District spokesperson said four inpatients and two staff had tested positive for COVID-19 in the oncology ward at St George Hospital.
“All 21 patients on the oncology ward have been tested and been in isolation since the first patient tested positive. The ward is currently closed to new admissions,” the spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The two staff members who tested positive are both fully vaccinated, while three patients have had one dose of the vaccine and one patient has not been vaccinated.
Four COVID-positive inmates are also being housed at the remand centre of Silverwater Jail, including two cases uncovered over the weekend. Their source of infection is being investigated.
Greens MP Cate Faehrmann says the government needs to ensure frontline healthcare workers are adequately protected from COVID.
“Doctors and nurses and other healthcare workers have been raising the alarm that they did not have adequate personal protective equipment such as correctly fitted N95 face masks,” she said on Tuesday.
Several schools are shut because of COVID cases including Jamisontown Public School and the Meadows Public School at Schofields in Sydney’s west as well as Blacktown North Public School in southwest Sydney.
AAP
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