4 new COVID cases in NSW

There have been four new cases of coronavirus diagnosed in NSW, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian slams low weekend testing numbers.

A woman wearing a face mask is seen in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

There have been four new cases of coronavirus diagnosed in New South Wales up to 8pm on Sunday night.

Of those, three cases are returned travellers in hotel quarantine, and the one locally acquired case had already been identified as a close contact of a patient linked to the Concord Hospital.

They were in self isolation before they were diagnosed.

NSW Health are still urgently chasing passengers of a taxi driver who worked for days while infectious and will release the details of all his trips in an attempt to find passengers who did not leave their details.

The driver’s case was reported on Saturday, with an alert issued for passengers who took a taxi in Moorebank, Bankstown, Chipping Norton, Liverpool, Lidcombe, Warwick Farm and Milperra on September 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18.

Four new cases of #COVID19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

Of the four new cases:
- 3 are returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine
- 1 is locally acquired linked to a known case or cluster pic.twitter.com/GZen7omOMF

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 21, 2020

NSW Health has identified passengers who booked the taxi in this period directly.

These passengers are treated as close contacts and must get tested and isolate for a full 14 days since they were in the taxi even if the test is negative. They must get tested again if any symptoms develop.

NSW Health is seeking to identify passengers who caught the Silver Service taxi on the following times and locations. These passengers should call the NSW Health Call Centre on 9391 9000 for further advice.

• Trip 8/9/2020: Pickup Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool 13:03 – Drop off Hoxton Park Road Cartwright 13:14
• Trip 8/9/2020: Pickup Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool 14:01 – Drop off Glenwari St Sadlier 14:11
• Trip 9/9/2020: Pickup Liverpool TAFE college, Bigge Street Liverpool 08:08 – Drop off Moorebank Shopping centre, Stockton Ave Moorebank 8:15
• Trip 10/9/2020: Pick-up Liverpool 14:38 – Drop off Graham Ave Casula 14:44
• Trip 10/9/2020: Pick-up Haddenham St Chipping Norton 19:15 – Drop off George St Burwood 19:48
• Trip 14/9/20: Pick-up Riverside Road Chipping Norton 15:50 – Drop off The Mill Hotel, Beaconsfield St Milperra 16:04
• Trip 15/9/2020: Pick-up Riverside Road Chipping Norton 08:31 – Drop off Birnie Ave Lidcombe 9:11
• Trip 15/9/2020: Pick-up Milperra 10:14 – Drop off Riverside Rd Chipping Norton 10:25
• Trip 15/9/2020: Pick-up Birnie Ave Lidcombe 15:22 – Drop off Riverside Rd Chipping Norton 16:07

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was disappointed to see only 7,765 tests were conducted across the state on Sunday – less than half of the 20,000 per day she wanted to see leading into the school holidays. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Premier Gladys Berejiklian slammed the low levels of testing over the past 24 hours, with just 7,765 tests conducted on Sunday – less than half of the 20,000 per day authorities have said they wanted to see.

Ms Berejiklian said residents shouldn’t wait until Monday or Tuesday to get tested if they were feeling unwell on the weekend.

“Complacency is our biggest concern, and we just want people to make sure they don’t wait,” she said. “If you feel the onset of the mildest symptom, please get tested.

“What has allowed us to conquer the virus is our high rates of testing and the expert contact tracers that have been able to follow up on every case.”

The Premier said experts had advised her that coronavirus is still circulating undetected in western and southwestern Sydney.

“We know during the school holidays, families understandably will be moving all across NSW,” she said. “If the virus is circulating in parts of the state – with so much mobility going on – we do worry about what that might mean for other parts of the state.

“This is happening at the same time as we lift border restrictions between Victoria and NSW – so we are going into a high risk period and we just want to make sure everyone is aware and nobody is complacent.”