'Fleeting contact': Sydney records another Covid case
NSW has recorded another new case of locally acquired Covid-19 with a man testing positive after attending the Westfield shopping centre in Bondi.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said it appears the infection came about from "fleeting contact" with an infectious person.
"It appears from CCTV cameras that it could have been a very fleeting contact between the infectious person and this gentleman in Bondi," she told reporters on Friday.
NSW Health was notified of the case, a man in his 50s, early this morning and it will be included in tomorrow’s official numbers.
NSW Chief Medical Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the man was at Myer at Bondi Junction on June 12 at the same time as the limousine driver who tested positive earlier this week.
Another man who tested positive and travelled to Canberra has been included in Friday's official numbers, despite health authorities being unsure about his case, making it two known cases for the 24-hour period to Friday.
"The two locally acquired cases counted in today’s figures are those announced yesterday," NSW Health said on Friday.
"The woman in her 70s from Sydney’s inner west has been confirmed as a case. She is linked to the airport transport driver through a venue they both attended.
"The second case announced yesterday, a man in his 40s from Sydney’s north-west, has low virus levels and is not yet linked to any known cases."
With more than a thousand people now ordered into isolation, Ms Berejiklian said the situation was still "evolving".
There were 21,678 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 23,145, the health department said.
Masks compulsory on Sydney transport
The NSW premier also announced that for the next five days, masks will be compulsory on public transport in the greater Sydney region from 4pm today. The rule includes the Blue Mountains.
Masks are strongly encouraged indoors.
People are encouraged to avoid non-essential visits to aged care and disability facilities and urged to wear a mask if they do.
Meanwhile anyone deemed to be a casual contact is asked not to travel about the city.
Exposure sites in Redfern, Newtown, Campbelltown and North Sydney
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has urged people to come forward for testing as sites in Bondi have been upgraded.
“Anyone at the Myer Bondi Junction level two or four between 11:15am and 11:50am or the David Jones Bondi Junction Level one between 10:55am and 11:15am on 12 June is now considered a close contact and must get tested and quarantine until 26 June," she said.
“Patrons of Westfield Bondi Junction food court Level five on 13 June from 1:15pm - 1:45pm are now considered casual contact and should get tested and isolate until a negative result is received."
The list of exposure sites has grown to include Redfern and Newtown in Sydney's inner west on June 13 as well as Campbelltown in the city's south on June 15. A grocer in Greenwood Plaza in North Sydney has also been added to the list for June 15.
Residents are being urged to check the growing list and corresponding times and get tested if necessary.
The cluster was sparked on Wednesday night when an unvaccinated limousine driver from Sydney's eastern suburb of Bondi and his wife were diagnosed, and a woman in her 70s was subsequently infected at a Vaucluse cafe frequented by the couple.
Worrying for contact tracers, the woman was sitting outside when she was infected, normally considered a low risk environment.
Health authorities say the man was highly infectious in the community from last Friday.
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