Masks to be worn indoors, in wake of four new Covid cases

Masks will be mandatory indoors in multiple suburbs covering Sydney’s CBD, the inner west, south and eastern suburbs.

Masks will be mandatory indoors in multiple suburbs covering Sydney’s CBD, the inner west, south and eastern suburbs after four new Covid-19 cases were detected.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the extended mask rules on Sunday in the wake of two additional locally acquired cases of Covid-19 detected in NSW as of 8pm Saturday.

A third and fourth case have been detected after the reporting period and will be included in Monday’s numbers.

There are now nine locally acquired cases of Covid-19 linked to the Bondi cluster, including a man in his 30s who attended Westfield Bondi Junction and spent time in Wollongong, and a household contact of the man both tested positive as of 8pm Saturday.

A further two cases were discovered overnight, including a woman in her 50s from the Sutherland Shire who was a close contact of a previously reported case and had already been in isolation.

The other case was a man in his 50s from the Sutherland Shire. He was also a close contact of a previously reported case and has been in isolation.

Westfield Bondi Junction, where one of Sydney’s transmission’s occurred during a fleeting encounter. Picture: Tim Hunter

The new restrictions apply to the seven local government areas of, Randwick, Bayside, Botany Bay, Inner West, City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra.

“Everybody who is in and around the seven local government areas in Sydney will have to wear a mask indoors if you are … going shopping, doing other activities unless eating or drinking,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“That will apply effective immediately but compliance from 4pm (Sunday) but we want people to start doing that from now.”

Ms Berejiklian said mandatory mask wearing in public transport in Sydney would be extended to also include the Wollongong and Shellharbour areas.

“I know all of us are a bit fatigued after so many months of living with Covid but we can’t drop off now,” she said.

“We have to make sure we aren’t complacent and have to make sure we are complying to what we are asking you to do. Please, we don’t want to extend further restrictions unless we must.”

Covid testing in Bondi. Picture: Monique Harmer

Earlier today NSW Health sent out alerts for more locations in Sydney, Bondi Junction and the Illawarra visited by confirmed cases of COVID-19.

They include the Fitness First gyms in Pitt St and Bond St in the CBD, a Baby Bunting store in Shellharbour, a Salvos store in Tempe, Woolworths Metro in Pitt St in the CBD and Aldi and Coles in Bondi Junction.

Residents across Sydney — and particularly in the affected suburbs — are being urged to be tested if they have even the slightest symptom, with NSW Health saying on Saturday that testing rates in the eastern suburbs have not been high enough.

Meanwhile Victoria has recorded another day of no new Covid cases, while Queensland has recorded one new case, with fears it is of the high-transmittable Delta variant.

Ms Berejiklian on Sunday also has confirmed she would make a request for more vaccine doses for NSW when she meets with other state leaders and Prime Minister Scott Morrison for national cabinet on Monday.

“I always have been calling for extra vaccines,” she said.

“The vaccine is our road to freedom, is our road to having a Covid-normal life.”

Ms Berejiklian said the “challenge” for NSW all along had been getting supply of vaccine to give out to the public.

“If we have more doses of Pfizer, we can get them out through our NSW Government mass vaccination hubs, we’ve got a hundred sites around NSW,” she said.

“For us, the issue is supply. If you get asked the doses between the GP network and the NSW Government, we will get those jabs in arms.”

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said at the moment all the positive Covid-19 cases in the community appeared to be “plausibly linked” as close contacts, but this would continue to be investigated.

Anyone who attended Westfield Bondi Junction, including the carpark on June 12 and 13 is being urged to seek a Covid-19 test immediately, amid concerns the virus may have spread through “fleeting” contacts.

Dr Chant said gym activities were not “specifically” included in the new mask health order, but urged people to use “common sense” by wearing one when possible, not crowding classes and avoiding premises if they have been in high-risk settings like the Westfield Bondi Junction on June 12 and 13.

“We know gyms are high risk environments,” she said.

“When you are puffing and panting, you are generating lots of droplets so we ask for caution, but we also acknowledge the practicality.”

Dr Chant said health officials would like to see mask wearing “lift” across NSW, in addition to the seven local government areas where it had become mandatory indoors.

“We really encourage, and have been for a number of days, to use masks whenever you are in indoor environments so we would like to see that,” she said.