24.06.2021
3 min read

Sydney COVID cluster expands as more cases are linked to Bondi, West Hoxton party

Sydneysiders face an anxious wait as a fast-spreading COVID cluster continues to spread through the Harbour City.

NSW Minister tests positive for COVID-19

Sydney will not go into a snap lockdown despite recording another 11 COVID cases overnight.

The Bondi cluster now stands at 36 cases, NSW Health said in a statement. Eighteen cases were confirmed on Thursday, however, 13 of those were reported on Wednesday.

A further six cases were detected overnight. The result comes after more than 48,000 people came forward for tests.

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Of the eighteen cases, 11 are linked to a birthday party in West Hoxton, four are linked to the Bondi cluster and two are close contacts of previously reported cases.

The 18th case, detected in a hairdresser from Western Sydney who worked in Double Bay, is not linked to a known case or cluster.

Urgent investigations are underway to determine his infection.

The six cases detected overnight, which will be included in Friday’s figures, include one case linked to the Bondi cluster, three cases linked to the Double Bay hairdresser and one linked to the West Hoxton birthday party.

One case has not yet been linked and urgent contact tracing is underway.

NSW Health has also issued an alert for a Kings Cross hair salon.

Anyone who attended the Crown Hair salon on Tuesday 22 June from 9am to 5pm is a close contact and must immediately call NSW Health on 1800 943 553, get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

An alert has also been issued for hundreds of thousands of people across north west Sydney, the Sutherland Shire and the Illawarra after COVID was detected in fragments of sewage.

The detections came from the Castle Hill Glenhaven, Rouse Hill, Cronulla and Bellambi catchments.

NSW’s result comes after one new COVID case was recorded in Victoria and three were detected in Queensland.

Premier’s COVID scare

“I also want to stress the situation regarding me and Parliament House,” she said at a press conference on Thursday.

“Health has made their assessments and deemed that I am a casual contact. I was tested very early this morning and isolated and returned a negative test a couple of hours ago and I will continue to follow health advice.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Credit: AAP

“Can I say, notwithstanding those circumstances, that since the pandemic has started, this is perhaps the scariest period that New South Wales is going through, and Dr Chant and I hour of equal view on that.

“It is a very contagious variant but at the same time we are at this stage comfortable that the settings that are in place are the appropriate settings, but that is so long as everybody does the right thing.

“Please be extra cautious. I took a test and was negative before I was even interviewed by Health and made sure I took all those necessary precautions, and I will continue to monitor the health advice and that is very important.

Is Sydney going into lockdown?

Despite the city’s fast-evolving COVID situation, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and the NSW Premier insisted a snap lockdown won’t be announced for Sydney.

“We have followed, in NSW, the health advice very cautiously, we’ve kept our state open,” Hazzard told Sunrise on Thursday.

“We haven’t rushed into lockdowns like other states.

“We don’t intend to rush into lockdowns.

“It’s very important that here in NSW, we strike the balance of keeping the economy open, keeping people in jobs, it’s important for mental health,” he added.

“At this stage, NSW leads the way right through the (past) 16 months and our health advice has been the best in the country.

“(Chief Health Officer) Dr (Kerry) Chant and her team are incredible.

“We’ve relied on that advice and we’ll continue to rely on that advice.”

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