Sydney will remain in lockdown until July 9. Photo / Supplied
Sydney will remain in lockdown until July 9. Photo / Supplied
New South Wales has recorded 35 new community cases of Covid-19.
This brings the total number of cases in Sydney's outbreak to 312, with 238 cases linked to the Bondi cluster.
"I foreshadowed a few days ago that the numbers were likely to bounce around. That is what we have seen overnight," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
Of todays 35 cases, 24 were in isolation throughout their infectious periods and four cases were in isolation for part of their infectious periods. Seven cases were infectious in the community.
A group of rule-breakers who held a party during the Greater Sydney lockdown have been linked to at least three of today's cases.
"Unfortunately, having a party when you're not supposed to have a party is not doing the right thing and we know that some of the cases today are a result of issues or result of incidents where people have done the wrong thing," Berejiklian said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has not ruled out extending Greater Sydney's lockdown. Photo / Getty Imahes
Berejiklian emphasised the impact a small amount of rule-breakers can have on the rest of the state and reiterated that the next couple of days will be "absolutely critical" in determining the trajectory of the outbreak.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant today refused to reveal whether she thinks lockdown restrictions will be lifted at the end of the week.
"I'm making no comment until I've looked at all the data. Every day brings a new set of data and a new set of challenges and what we think in the morning can change in the afternoon," she said.
Berejiklian warned yesterday that it was "too soon" to tell whether the lockdown would end, though she was confident the "tide is turning" in the city's outbreak.
Sydney aged care cluster grows
Two more residents at an aged care home in Sydney's northwest have tested positive to Covid-19, bringing the total number of infected residents to five.
Summit Care in Baulkham Hills sent a letter last night informing residents that the new cases were "resting comfortably and not displaying any symptoms", according to the ABC.
The residents are reportedly being transferred to Westmead Hospital as a precaution.
Residents wave to waiting media from inside their room at the SummitCare nursing home in Baulkham Hills, NSW. Photo / News Corp Australia
The rise in infections among residents comes after two nurses had worked at the facility while unknowingly infectious.
Despite 96 per cent of residents in the home being vaccinated, it was revealed that only one-third of staff members had received the Covid-19 jab.
Summit Care's chief operating officer Michelle Sloane revealed on Sunday that one of the infected staff members was unvaccinated and the vaccination status of the other worker was "unclear".
This prompted a furious response from the daughter of one of the infected residents, who old the ABC she had assumed all the staff would have been vaccinated.
"I think it's a disgrace. If I had known, that would've meant I would've made other decisions around my parents," she said.
She then took to social media to blast reports from the facility that the residents are in "good spirits", saying that is far from the truth.
"What nonsense," she wrote.
"My father is terrified and is positive. Staff have been told to not talk to residents to minimise interaction. Please remember they are human and are frightened. Bring in social workers!"
The nursing home went into "full lockdown" on Friday after at least two staff members worked at the facility while unknowingly infectious.
At least 70-75 per cent of staff are now in isolation with tests on 226 residents and staff on Saturday.
Berejiklian warned yesterday that Sydney residents defying lockdown restrictions could lead to an unwanted rise in cases.
"We've seen in the last few days how easy it is for people to unintentionally do the wrong thing, or intentionally do the wrong thing, and that can result in more cases, which is something we don't want to see," she said.
New cases in Queensland
Queensland has recorded four new locally acquired Covid-19 cases.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said while the case numbers "might seem a bit large", it was good news that all four were linked to previously identified cases.
"Our contact tracers have done some good detective work and they think they have worked out... how this clusters links together," Palaszczuk said.
Two community cases were recoreded in Queensland yesterday, both linked to the Portuguese restaurant cluster, which has grown to 20 cases.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Photo / Getty Images
Palaszczuk expressed frustration with ongoing vaccine supply issues, telling Queenslanders they would have to wait months before getting the jab.
"We have 139,875 Queenslanders who have registered to get the Pfizer vaccine," she said. "What I want to say to those people out there is that you will be given a booking but the booking may not be until October or November because that is when all the supply comes in from the Federal Government.
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'ath said supplies of the Pfizer vaccine were "stagnant".
"We have asked for some of that supply to be brought forward but we're waiting on an answer for that," she said.
