New rules for 12 Sydney suburbs as 262 Covid cases reported

• 262 cases of Covid-19 recorded in NSW in the past 24 hours until 8pm

• 12 suburbs within Penrith LGA subjected to harsher restrictions from 5pm Sunday

• Sadly one woman in her 80s has died

NSW has recorded 262 cases of Covid-19 as Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced 12 more Sydney suburbs in the Penrith LGA will be subjected to harsher restrictions from 5pm on Sunday.

There was one death overnight, a woman in her 80s, which brings the number of Covid-related deaths to 28 during the current outbreak and the number of lives lost since the beginning of the pandemic is now 84.

There were 95,480 Covid-19 tests reported to 8pm on Saturday, compared with the previous day’s total of 108,449.

The 12 suburbs affected by new restrictions are:

• Caddens

• Claremont Meadows

• Colyton

• Erskine Park

• Kingswood

• Mount Vernon

• North St Marys

• Orchard Hills

• Oxley Park

• St Clair

• St Marys

• Kemps Creek

In line with restrictions currently in place for Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta LGAs, people in the newly-listed 12 suburbs, which are now deemed "areas of concern", are only permitted to obtain food and other goods and services within five kilometres of their home. The same rule applies for exercising.

Residents are also banned from travelling outside the hotspot zone for work unless they are on the NSW Government's list of authorised workers.

Canterbury-Bankstown LGA remains 'number-one' LGA for coronavirus cases

The Canterbury-Bankstown LGA continues to be an area of concern, with Ms Berejiklian saying it "remains the epicentre of the most cases."

NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty said additional restrictions for the 12 suburbs were necessary after seeing the virus move into part of Penrith.

"The additional restrictions will help to contain the outbreak," he said.

The Armidale local government area went into lockdown on Saturday from 5pm after confirming two new cases were recorded in the region overnight.

NSW residents urged to get vaccinated

Ms Berejiklian said NSW waas "tracking well" to hit the six million jab target by the end of August. So far, four million vaccinations have been administered.

"So we are sticking to our targets, and I am keen to get to six million jabs by the end of August, because that will provide us opportunities to consider what life looks like in September," she said on Sunday.

Although acknowledging life will look "very different" when vaccination rates hit 70 and 80 per cent, she reminded people vaccination rates don't necessarily mean it will return to normal immediately.

"It doesn't mean we will return to pre-outbreak conditions. What it does mean is that September can be a month where we have greater freedom than we do now," she said.

"Freedom relies on vaccination and there is no doubt about that."

NSW announced 319 new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, the highest number of daily infections recorded since the pandemic began.

Dr McAnulty said they were "very concerned" about Canterbury-Bankstown area, with 92 of those cases from that LGA.

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New exposure sites listed by NSW health

Anyone who travelled on the following train service is a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days since they were there, regardless of the result:

• XPT Regional Train from Broadmeadow to Armidale via Werris Creek on Thursday, July 29 from 11.40am to 5.30pm

• Belmore, Belmore Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Centre on Tuesday, August 3 from 1.00pm to 5.30pm

• Burwood, Commonwealth Bank on Tuesday, August 3, from 8.15am to 5.15pm and Wednesday, August, 4 from 8.15am to 5.15pm

To see a full list of exposure sites, visit the NSW Government website.

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