NSW records 233 new local COVID-19 cases and two deaths including a man in his 20s

NSW has recorded 233 new locally-acquired COVID-19 infections and two deaths - a man in his 20s from south-west Sydney and a woman in her eighties in the city's inner west.

Of the new cases reported on Wednesday, at least 47 were infectious in the community.

Some 103 are linked to a known case or cluster, 79 are household contacts and 24 are close contacts. The source of infection for 130 cases is under investigation.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the young man's death showed how COVID-19 could be lethal and affected people of all ages.

"Unfortunately the gentleman wasn't vaccinated, hadn't had any dose of the vaccine," she told reporters.

"As we understand the death happened quite suddenly."

NSW recorded 233 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

Of these locally acquired cases, 103 are linked to a known case or cluster â€" 79 are household contacts and 24 are close contacts â€" pic.twitter.com/d4oohYnpWk

â€" NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 4, 2021

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the man died at home and was being checked daily.

His death has been referred to the NSW Coroner.

"He did complain of feeling a little fatigued but the deterioration happened suddenly," she said.

"We are aware that with COVID you can get sudden deaths and I think that is important to understand that your health status can deteriorate and you can have sudden death with COVID."

NSW reaches four million jabs

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged the state to get vaccinated.

"Overnight New South Wales hit that four million jab target, which is great," she said.

"It is really important for us to have the tools available to us so that we can consider what life looks like beyond August 28 and it is really, really important for people to come forward and get vaccinated."

NSW Health administered 25,470 COVID-19 vaccines in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

"We are now in a position to have capacity to get jabs in arms so long as obviously we get those vaccine doses arriving in the next few weeks, " Ms Berejiklian said.

The premier also indicated that Year 12 students in the Greater Sydney region may not be in a position to return to face to face learning on 16 August as had been previously planned.

"The health team and education team are meeting daily to discuss all those issues and challenges," she said.

"I want to stress to Year 12 students and their family, as difficult as it is, each and every one of you will be fairly assessed to obtain your HSC."

Virus fragments detected in sewage

NSW Health has also detected a high viral load in several regional sewage plants.

"A particular call out for all of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie but particularly Birmingham Gardens, Shortland, Maryland, Fletcher, Minmi, Cameron park, Mayfield, Stockton and Fern Bay," Dr Chant said.

"It is critical that we can get those testing levels up to really understand as soon as possible whether there is any undiagnosed cases there so we can make the best public health decisions.

"In terms of other sewage detections we have had low levels of detection from the Coffs Harbour sewage treatment plant and the Mudgee sewage treatment plant."

Transmission in apartment buildings

Dr Chant said an apartment complex in Campbelltown has been locked down after a number of cases were confirmed across multiple apartments.

"We are responding to nine cases across seven units in a Campbelltown apartment complex and we are instituting further testing and control measures in relation to that apartment complex as we understand how transmission occurred," Dr Chant said.

"Some of the transmission events clearly occurred between family groups or friends but we are interviewing a number of cases that were detected overnight through swabbing of that entire premise."

Dr Chant has urged people living in apartment complex to avoid common areas.

"We are seeing some cases in apartment buildings and we have seen transmission with the Delta strain, more than we have seen with previous strains in this context," she said.

"That was why we introduced mask wearing for common areas.

"But also sharing lifts with people, minimise your exposure to any common areas, really go in and out directly of apartment buildings and minimise your interactions with others."

Campbelltown City Mayor George Brticevic told SBS News the restrictions were in place for the benefit of the community.

"Council is doing everything it can to assist the situation [at the apartment block]," he said.

"They are our number one priority, their health and the welfare of those residents.

"New South Wales are the experts and they have the data, so they're obviously tracking COVID and those fears have come to some fruition where the apartment is now locked down."

Infringement notices

Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said NSW Police issued 360 penalty infringement notices on Tuesday.

"Those 360 people need to have a good hard look at themselves and make sure that when they walk out the door, my view is you turn around and have a look at who is inside your home and what you're going to bring back to those people," he said.

Share this post