One person dies from Covid as NSW records 77 new cases
A person has died after being infected with coronavirus as NSW recorded 77 new local cases on Sunday.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed the fatal case had acquired Covid-19 from a household contact.
The woman, aged in her 90s from southwest Sydney, was tested for Covid-19 on Friday and returned a positive result on Saturday.
She died at Liverpool Hospital on Saturday and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said it was understood the woman was not vaccinated.
She is the first person to die since the Bondi cluster emerged on June 16, and the 57th person in NSW to die since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.
The woman is also the first person to catch COVID-19 locally in Australia in 2021 and die.
"I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families and loved ones," Ms Berejiklian said.
The latest numbers were a steep jump from the 50 locally-acquired cases reported on Saturday.
She added she would be "shocked" if the cases were below 100 on Monday.
"Tomorrow and the few days afterwards will be worse, much worse than we've seen today," she said.
"What we need to be assured of is that the tide will turn once the impact of the changes we've made come to fruition."
Of the 77 new cases, 55 are linked to a known cluster and 39 are household contacts, while 16 are close contacts.
The source of infection is under investigation for 22 of the new cases.
"I want to repeat the message I conveyed yesterday, that when you get COVID, unfortunately those most impacted are those closest to you," Ms Berejiklian said.
The premier stressed the importance of following the lockdown rules, asking people to think about their loved ones.
"If you don't worry about yourself, that's your decision, but think about your closest family members, your closest people in your life, they're the people that are most impacted," she said.
When Ms Berejiklian announced 50 new Covid cases on Saturday, she expressed concern for the alarming number of people who were infectious while in the community.
In NSW, there are currently 52 cases in hospital, with 15 people in intensive car and five on ventilators.
'Firm gaze' on southwest Sydney
Dr Chant said the gaze of health authorities is "firmly on south-western Sydney", however she stressed people in other areas should not become complacent.
"I do not want complacency anywhere else. We do not want to be putting out multiple spot fires in other sites. So there is a responsibility on all of us to do the right thing," she said.
She added if people are confirmed to be a Covid case, there should be no further contacts due to the lockdown.
"There should be no contact," she said.
"You should have hardly been out of the house, hardly been in contact with anyone else, and therefore we have confidence that the chain of transmission is really broken."
NSW recorded 77 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/jLeeE5CAMD
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 11, 2021
NSW Health said 33 cases were infectious in the community, while three cases are under investigation.
Nine people out of the 77 were in isolation for part of their infectious period, while 32 were in isolation for the whole duration of their infectious period.
On Saturday, 37 people were out in the community while infectious, on Friday, 29 cases were partly or fully in the community while infectious.
Ms Berejiklian said this worrying trend needed to be driven down.
"I've always said we need that exposure number in the community, those 33 that we had last night (Saturday), to be as close to zero as possible so we're confident that we haven't missed any chains of transmission," Ms Berejiklian said.
Of the new cases on Sunday, 11 have been linked to the gathering at the Meriton Suite in Waterloo, which happened on June 26.
The number of cases linked to that venue stands at 46 — seven people who were at the gathering and 39 subsequent contacts.
The CHO added health authorities are still picking up "unrecognised" cases within households.
After a further update to public health orders, Sydneysiders are now required to wear masks in all indoor areas of construction sites and common areas of apartment blocks.
The new rules come after city-wide restrictions were tightened on Friday afternoon, with exercise now limited to groups of two and only one person per day from each household allowed to leave the house to go shopping.
Covid alert for Coles, KFC upgraded
Several new venues of concern have been added to the Covid exposure sites list, including major shopping centres and supermarkets.
The health alert for Coles Kareela and KFC Rockdale was upgraded to a close contact venue late on Saturday night after previously being listed a casual contact location.
Anyone who is considered a "close contact" must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
New close contact venues are:
Coles, Kareela, Friday, July 2, from 5pm to 10pm and Tuesday, July 6 from 5pm to 10pm
KFC Rockdale, Tuesday, July 6 from 10am to 4pm and Wednesday, July 7 from 10.30am to 4pm
Mrs Fields, Roselands Shopping Centre, Roselands, Wednesday, June 30 from 10.30am to 10.45am
Greenacre Medical Practice, Greenacre, Monday, July 5 from 11.40am to 1.50pm and Tuesday, July 6 from 12.40pm to 1.45pm
St Peters Cafe On Wentworth, Greenacre, Monday, July 5 from 6am to 6.30am
Belmore Medical Centre, Belmore, Monday, July 5 from 6.30pm to 7.15pm
Commonwealth Bank, Kogarah, Monday, July 5 from 3.05pm to 3.35pm
BBQ Galore, Penrith, Tuesday, July 6 from 2.30pm to 3.45pm
For more information about the growing list of Covid exposure sites, visit the NSW Government website here.
Sydney remains under lockdown, with people only permitted to leave their home for essential reasons.
From Sunday, funerals will now be capped at 10 people.
With AAP
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