There has been a surge of COVID-19 infections in NSW with 110 new local cases recorded and at least 60 of those people were circulating in the community for part or all of their infectious period.
“That is a high number but a number which reflects the high amount of testing that we had,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Wednesday.
“The simple message is this is really serious.”
There was a record number of tests – 83,477 – conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.
The premier tried to quell concerns about the number of new cases spiking to triple figures – compared to 78 from the previous day.
“We need to wait until at least the weekend and early next week to see the impact of those harsher restrictions,” she said.
“The alternative of not taking action when we did would have seen today’s numbers double, triple, four times what it is,” she said.
Of the new cases, 43 were infectious in the community for the entire time and 17 were the community for part of their infectious period. The isolation status of 13 cases remains under investigation.
NSW Health said 54 cases are linked to a known case or cluster – 40 are household contacts and 14 are close contacts – and the source of infection for 56 cases is under investigation.
Two new overseas-acquired cases were also recorded overnight.
Ms Berejiklian said the state had been “extremely successful” in limiting the spread of the virus despite low vaccination numbers and if Sydney had not gone into lockdown the case numbers on Wednesday would “undoubtedly have been thousands and thousands”.
“In truth, we won’t live as freely as we need to or we would like until vaccination rates increase,” she said.
“That is one thing the NSW government can’t control.”
There are 106 patients in hospital with COVID-19 in NSW, 23 are in intensive care and 11 are ventilated.
Since the Greater Sydney outbreak began on June 16, there have been 1528 cases and five people have died.
NSW Health’s Jeremy McAnulty encouraged people to be “particularly vigilant” in Cumberland, Merrylands, Guildford, Belrose, Toongabbie, Seven Hills, Mount Druitt, Rooty Hill, Lakemba, Fairfield, Haymarket and Wollongong.
Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said NSW Services had received 15,500 applications for support by 11am on Wednesday and the state had processed $196 million worth of those applications, with $26 million so far deposited.
Meanwhile, people in the central-western town of Orange and its surrounds are in their first full day of a seven-day lockdown after a COVID-19 positive delivery driver from Sydney visited the area and infected another person.
The lockdown in the Orange, Blayney and Cabonne local government areas marks the first time a stay-at-home order has been imposed in regional NSW.
Residents can only leave to shopping for essential items, medical care or compassionate needs, exercise in groups of no more than two and for work or tertiary studies that can’t be done from home.
Residents of Greater Sydney and surrounding regions are now in their fourth week of lockdown restrictions, currently due to end at the end of this month.
The Sydney construction market has been shut down for the next two weeks.
A full list of NSW exposure sites can be found at health.nsw.gov.au
AAP
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