Man in his 20s dies of Covid at home as NSW records 587 new cases

NSW has recorded 587 new Covid infections and eight deaths, including a man in his 20s who died at home.

Another 587 new Covid infections have been recorded in NSW and eight people have died with the virus, including a man in his 20s who died at home.

NSW Health said the man, from western Sydney, tested positive to Covid-19 after his death.

The eight deaths included five men and three women – one person in their 50s, two people in their 60s, two people in their 70s, and two people in their 80s, along with the man in his 20s.

Of the new cases 119 were from Sydney’s southwest, 105 from western Sydney and 83 from the Hunter area.

Sixty were from Illawarra/Shoalhaven and the rest scattered across NSW, all the way to the far west.

NSW recorded 587 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
No new cases were acquired overseas. The total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of
the pandemic is 66,835. pic.twitter.com/NNJ6xdGXPQ

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) October 7, 2021

Stay-at-home orders have been extended for a number of areas in regional NSW, including Oberon LGA, Snowy Monaro Regional LGA, and Menindee and Sunset Strip in the Central Darling Shire.

Tough measures will remain in place until Monday.

“Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or education if you can’t work or study at home,” NSW Health said.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard announced the numbers during a press conference at 9am after the new Premier Dominic Perrottet revealed his plan to ditch the traditional 11am timeslot.

Mr Hazzard warned people not to become complacent despite the steady decline in cases.

“The numbers are continuing to go down. We must not take this for granted,” he said.

“If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, you’re now in the minority, but you need to go and get vaccinated because that is what you will do to keep our state safe.”

Dominic Perrottet defended the decision to scrap the 11am press conference. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

There are 911 cases in NSW hospitals, with 181 people in intensive care and 85 of those requiring ventilation.

Mr Perrottet was earlier probed about his decision to ditch the 11am conference in the midst of a health crisis.

“It’s also an economic crisis,” the Premier quipped.

More than 70 per cent of eligible residents aged 16 and older are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19, meaning a host of restrictions will ease on Monday.

Once the 80 per cent target is reached, likely to be next week, there will be another wave of eased restrictions.

Sydney has been locked down since mid-June after the first case of Delta emerged in the Bondi area. It has since spread across the city and to the regions, triggering several snap lockdowns.

Originally published as Man in his 20s dies of Covid at home as NSW records 587 new cases