This was published 4 years ago
Four new local cases in NSW closes two schools; premiers tussle over Origin
By Kate Aubusson and Lydia Lynch
NSW reported four new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 on Friday, closing two schools in the Southern Highlands.
An additional five cases were reported in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4265.
One locally acquired case was detected in the Southern Highlands area, and the other three are close contacts of that person.
One of the new cases attended Moss Vale Public School, and another attended Southern Highlands Early Childhood Centre.
Both sites are closed for cleaning, and contact tracing and further investigations are under way.
NSW Health has urged anyone living or working in the Moss Vale area to watch for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested should even the mildest of symptoms develop.
There is a new walk-in clinic at Moss Vale Showground, 16 Illawarra Highway. It is open from 10:30am to 5pm on Friday and on Saturday and Sunday from 9am to 5pm.
On Friday the texting feud between the NSW and Queensland premiers flared again, with Annastacia Palaszczuk lamenting her counterpart Gladys Berejiklian could not “have a bit of fun”.
Ms Palaszczuk says she received a congratulatory text after her election win last week, with no mention of the borders. She replied with a “tongue in cheek comment about the State of Origin”.
On Thursday, Ms Berejiklian took offence to the text, saying "I'm worried about jobs and people not seeing their families and she just rubbed in the fact that Queensland won the game ... that's fine.”
Ms Palaszczuk said she was obviously “a little bit upset the mighty Maroons won”.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Credit: Nick Moir / Getty
“If you can’t have a bit of fun with State of Origin ... every NSW and Queensland premier has had bets and talked about the State of Origin,” the Queensland Premier said.
“I am always happy to speak to Gladys, she has my phone number."
NSW and Victoria have both recorded 18 locally acquired coronavirus cases over the past two weeks, the first time local numbers have been level in the states for more than six months.
Both states have a 14-day average of 1.3.
NSW has also recorded 66 cases among returned travellers in hotel quarantine in this time, which have not been included in the 14-day average because they do not reflect infections within the community.