New South Wales records THREE new coronavirus cases linked to known clusters as Northern Beaches enjoys first day of freedom after weeks in lockdown
- New South Wales reported three new locally acquired Covid-19 cases Sunday
- Two linked to the Berala cluster, in western Sydney, and one to Avalon
- Residents north of Narrabeen Bridge in Sydney had stay-at-home orders lifted
- The region had been in hard lockdown since outbreak of Covid-19 in December
New South Wales has reported three new locally acquired Covid-19 cases overnight.
State premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Sunday two of the cases were linked to Berala, in Sydney’s west, and the other case linked to the Avalon cluster, on the northern beaches.
Three cases were also linked to returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
The news come as residents north of Narrabeen Bridge on Sydney’s northern beaches have finally had their stay-at-home orders lifted.
Residents wearing face masks stroll the streets in the Sydney CBD on January 2
On Saturday, Ms Berejiklian said more cases of the mutated United Kingdom and South African strains of Covid-19 will turn up in Australians returning home and spending time in hotel quarantine systems.
She also believes mask usage will be mandatory for the foreseeable future.
NSW recorded one new locally-acquired case of Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday.
The single local infection was a contact of a case linked to the Berala cluster, which now numbers 21, and came from more than 25,000 tests.
There were also five new cases in travellers in hotel quarantine.
Australia faces an anxious wait to see if the highly-contagious UK version of the virus has spread from Brisbane.
Greater Brisbane is halfway through a three-day lockdown after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel was diagnosed with the more infectious British strain.
The NSW government subsequently ordered anyone in the state who had been in Greater Brisbane since January 2 to adhere to the same regulations.
Travellers from the area will only be able to leave their accommodation until 6pm on Monday to shop, exercise, work, perform care or seek medical help.
Anyone already in transit from Greater Brisbane to NSW must abide by Queensland’s isolation rules and act as if they had remained in Brisbane.
Customers are seen wearing face masks at Westfield Bondi Junction after they became mandatory in Sydney
Ms Berejiklian on Saturday warned NSW residents the contagious UK and South African strains would likely become dominant in countries failing to suppress Covid-19 transmission.
‘It’s important for us to learn as much as we can during this time … I also want to stress we shouldn’t be attributing these variants to one country because the so-called UK strain now exists in 30 countries,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘We have to assume that this strain will become the dominant strain, and it is important to keep re-assessing our settings, keep staying vigilant.’
Casual-contact alerts have been issued for the Artisaint Cafe at the Crowne Plaza Sydney Burwood and the Burwood Bing Lee on January 6.
Those who attended Westfield Burwood and several shops inside the complex on January 6 and 7 have also been advised to monitor for symptoms, as have patrons of Costume clothes shop at Avalon Beach on New Year’s Eve.
A prior alert for Sydney Marina restaurant in Pendle Hill has also been upgraded to a casual-contact alert, meaning patrons must seek testing.