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Coronavirus Australia: NSW records shocking spike with 239 new COVID cases

The West Australian
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COVID-19 testing at Albert Park, Melbourne.
Camera IconCOVID-19 testing at Albert Park, Melbourne. Credit: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

As six million people in Greater Sydney stare down the barrel of another month of lockdown Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed a worrying spike in local cases overnight and two new deaths.

The Government says it’s difficult to know what’s working and what’s not as it deals with a increasingly worrying COVID-19 crisis.

Meanwhile, Queensland authorities are on alert about a flight from Brisbane to Perth after a passenger who has COVID-19 flew on it last week.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the man initially arrived in Brisbane on a flight from the Philippines via Papua New Guinea on July 3 and entered hotel quarantine.

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After 14 days and three negative tests, he then flew to Western Australia on July 17 or 18.

In Victoria concerns are mounting as the State records seven new COVID-19 cases, with the source of a mystery infection still unknown.

South Australia has reported two new cases in its latest cluster of local COVID-19 infections, but both are already in quarantine, Premier Steven Marshall says.

The new cases take the current outbreak to 21 since it first emerged more than a week ago.

The new infections come the day after SA lifted its week-long lockdown designed to bring the current cluster under control.

LONG SYDNEY LOCKDOWN HITTING HARD

As six million people in Greater Sydney stare down the barrel of another month of lockdown the NSW Government has confirmed a worrying 239 cases of community transmission overnight and two new deaths.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at least 70 of those were infectious in the community.

“Based on those numbers we can only assume that things are likely to get worse before they get better given the quantum of people infectious in the community.”

Sadly, NSW Health has been notified of two COVID-19-related deaths.

A woman in her 90s from south west Sydney died yesterday morning at Liverpool Hospital.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Camera IconNSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Credit: Pool/Getty Images

A man in his 80s from south west Sydney died yesterday afternoon at Royal North Shore Hospital.

The shocking news comes after yesterday’s 177 new coronavirus infections prompted the decision the lockdown of Greater Sydney and surrounding regions that began five weeks ago would be extended until August 28.

The Government also introduced new measures targeted at two million people in eight local government areas spanning 50km in the city’s west and southwest where people cannot leave the area unless they are essential workers.

Meanwhile, nine young people including, eight teenagers from the west and southwestern Sydney areas under the toughest lockdown, are accused of breaking stay-at-home orders and becoming involved in a high-speed pursuit with police in the Hunter region.

Each has been fined $1000 for breaching the health orders.

Meanwhile, Cumberland mayor Steve Christou says morale in his western Sydney community is “at an all-time low”.

“It’s like Armageddon,” he told Sydney radio 2GB on Thursday.

“We are now 19 months into COVID and we have no other solutions other than lockdowns.”

More than 10,000 construction workers in the area were not able to earn a living and people who had lost work had told him they were skipping meals.

Meanwhile, up to 40,000 Pfizer doses will be redirected from the regions to vaccinate Year 12 students in Sydney’s eight worst-hit council areas.

COVID-19 CASE FLEW BETWEEN QLD AND WA

Queensland authorities are on alert about a flight from Brisbane to Perth after a passenger who has COVID-19 flew on it last week.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says the man initially arrived in Brisbane on a flight from the Philippines via Papua New Guinea on July 3 and entered hotel quarantine.

After 14 days and three negative tests, he then flew to WA on July 17 or 18.

WA authorities denied the man entry and put him in quarantine before he was put on a flight, which arrived in Brisbane at 12.55pm on July 20.

The man then became unwell while staying a backpackers hostel in Brisbane and tested positive for the Alpha variant of COVID-19 on Monday.

VICTORIA POSTS SEVEN NEW LOCAL COVID CASES

Victoria has recorded seven new local COVID-19 cases, but the source of a mystery case in a testing site traffic controller is still not known.

The Department of Health confirmed seven locally acquired cases were detected in the 24 hours to Thursday morning, including the traffic controller.

Health Minister Martin Foley confirmed the man, who worked at the Moonee Valley Racecourse site, tested positive on Wednesday, two days after developing symptoms.

The testing site was immediately closed and dozens of staff who worked the same shifts as the man were sent home to isolate as a precaution.

“We do believe there will be minimal risk to those at the site,” Mr Foley told reporters on Wednesday.

It takes the number of cases linked to the State’s outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant to 204.

More than 42,000 test results were received in the past 24 hours, while about 19,000 vaccine doses were administered at State-run sites during the same period.

Three people seen holding flares at last weekend’s anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne are being urged to hand themselves into police.

Thousands attended the protest outside Victoria’s Parliament House on Saturday, which was brought to a violent end as police used pepper spray to clear the crowd.

In the days since, fines have been issued to at least 73 people and police have been scouring through hundreds of hours of footage from social media, CCTV and body-worn cameras.

TWO NEW CASES IN SA VIRUS CLUSTER

South Australia has reported two new cases in its latest cluster of local COVID-19 infections, but both are already in quarantine, Premier Steven Marshall says.

The new cases take the current outbreak to 21 since it first emerged more than a week ago.

The new infections come the day after SA lifted its week-long lockdown designed to bring the current cluster under control.

“We’ve really got to manage this risk at the moment. My primary concern is the health of all South Australians,” the premier said.

“We’ll manage these applications but we’ll do it in a prudent way.”

SA still has hard borders in place with NSW and Victoria and while a transition committee meeting would consider those measures on Thursday, no changes were expected.

The State’s so-called Modbury cluster of coronavirus cases began with an 81-year-old man who recently arrived in Australia from Argentina and was quarantined in Sydney before travelling to Adelaide, where he tested positive.

STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

NSW — 239 new local cases

VIC — 7 new local cases

QLD — 0 new local cases

WA — TBC

SA — 2 new local cases

NT — TBC

ACT — TBC

TAS — TBC

With AAP

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