02.12.2021
2 min read

New South Wales reports 271 COVID-19 cases after Omicron shopper visits Liverpool chemist

New South Wales has reported another slight increase in new COVID-19 cases - a day after a busy chemist was put on alert for Omicron.

Bunnings shopper drives out of carpark with enormous wood planks

New South Wales has reported another marginal increase in daily COVID-19 cases.

There were 271 new cases of COVID in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday.

There were no new deaths.

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The vaccine rate continues to crawl towards 95 per cent first dose, with 94.6 per cent of the over 16 population having received their first shot.

Some 92.5 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Signage at Sydney International Airport in Sydney. Credit: JAMES GOURLEY/AAPIMAGE

It comes after New South Wales reported its sixth confirmed case of the new strain of COVID-19 on Wednesday night.

The Cabramatta man in his 40s arrived on flight QR908 from Doha to Sydney on 25 November and tested positive to COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The man, who spent six months in Nigeria, is fully vaccinated but was in the community prior to testing positive.

Chemist Warehouse in Liverpool has been listed as the sole new exposure site, with anyone there on Monday night between 8.10pm and 8.15pm urged to seek testing and isolate until a negative result is returned.

Professor Blakely says Omicron be the ‘get out of the pandemic card we’ve been waiting for. Credit: Getty Images

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the government is not considering another lockdown.

“The challenge for us as a government and the other governments ... is to strike a different balance to the ones we had in the past,” he said.

While the government is advising caution, the state’s residents appear concerned.

The number of tests in NSW jumped by more than 23,000 between Monday and Tuesday - an increase of more than a third - as people reacted to the news of Omicron’s arrival.

A similar increase occurred in the case numbers, with 251 detected on Tuesday and 179 on Monday.

Mr Hazzard said he and Premier Dominic Perrottet are “not keen to see a return to lockdown”. Credit: BIANCA DE MARCHI/AAPIMAGE

At least two people have been in the community with the variant in NSW, having not been required to isolate after they landed in Australia before rules were changed on Saturday.

Since then arrivals from eight countries of concern in southern Africa have been placed in quarantine for two weeks.

All other international arrivals in NSW and Victoria are now required to isolate for 72 hours at a nominated address, until they’ve returned a negative PCR test. They then have to isolate again while they wait for the results of a second test on their sixth day back in the country.

- With AAP