Coronavirus NSW: Explosion of cases in Sydney’s wealthy beach suburbs concerns health officials

An explosion of coronavirus cases in Sydney’s wealthy beachside suburbs has health officials concerned as many people along the coast continue to blatantly ignore social distancing orders.

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An explosion of coronavirus cases in Sydney’s wealthy beachside suburbs has health officials concerned as many people along the coast continue to blatantly ignore social distancing orders.

Clusters of the virus in densely populated areas including Bondi, Balmain and the northern beaches — including large increases in the number of cases without a known source of infection — are now a major concern for health authorities.

Manly Beach is back open for business and already congested at Sunrise on Monday after being closed on Sunday for social distancing breaches. Picture: Matrix

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NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the clusters of cases in beachside areas should be “huge red flags” for people who are still refusing to follow edicts about social distancing.

“It’s great that we can enjoy the beach and parks for exercise, but it is absolutely crazy that some people think they’re immune, when clearly the figures tell us they’re not,” Mr Hazzard said.

“It’s only 1.5m that stops this virus in its tracks, so why run the risk of it (landing) you in hospital, or worse, into an intensive care unit.”

Monday morning and the sun worshippers are out at Manly Beach. Picture: Matrix

Mr Hazzard said if people continued to ignore the restrictions there was no chance they would be relaxed.

“If people had simply observed the 1.5m rule a few weeks ago we wouldn’t have had Bondi and other beaches close,” he said.

A coronavirus testing clinic has been set up in Balmain, after the inner west recorded a jump in cases, with no known source, of about 90 per cent in the week to April 5.

The northern beaches has 144 cases, including 21 not linked to a previous patient or overseas travel. It comes as the local council was forced to take a stand against people ignoring social distancing rules by closing popular beaches including Dee Why, Manly, Curl Curl and Palm Beach.

Dee Why Beach has become the new hot spot after beaches in Sydney’s eastern suburbs were closed. Picture: Matrix

Waverley has 167 confirmed COVID-19 cases — the highest of any council area — prompting mass testing programs to be rolled out in the Bondi region.

The first drive-through test site started operating in the Bondi Beach carpark on Monday, less than a week after a pop-up testing clinic was opened at the Bondi Pavilion.

Keep walking and avoid eye contact … people at Bondi on Tuesday morning. Picture: David Swift.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said there were many reasons for local transmission rising, with more affluent areas likely to have a higher number of people returning from overseas.

“We are very much encouraging (in normal time) for health, people going to the beach and exercising. (But) now we have to decrease that,” he said.

Prof Kelly said there were good signs Australia had started to flatten the curve by slowing the rate of transmission, but it was too early to know if the country has avoided the worst of the pandemic.

“Whether we indeed will get a peak is hard to know,” he said.

“Maybe we are there already. I don't believe so, but we will continue to get cases over the next period.”