1116 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, four deaths in NSW as Gladys Berejiklian says we can’t beat Delta

NSW has recorded another day where Covid-19 cases exceeded 1000, prompting Premier Gladys Berejiklian to admit chasing zero cases was futile.

A nurse performs a test at the Covid-19 Drive Through and Walk in clinic in Auburn in Sydney. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Gladys Berejiklian has admitted it is “impossible” to defeat the Delta strain, continuing to shift her rhetoric around Covid-19 after revealing 1116 new infections on Tuesday.

Premier Berejiklian reiterated that NSW and all other states would have to live with daily cases of Delta, urging other state premiers not to deny her constituents the “freedoms they deserve” once the state reached 80 per cent vaccination rates.

She said it would be cruel if other premiers, such as Western Australia’s Mark McGowan, maintained a hard border with NSW even when the majority of the state was immunised.

“Our position is the one we stated from the outset; it's impossible to eliminate the Delta strain,” she said.

“NSW has proved successful until this point in time at getting rid of other strains of Covid, but the Delta strain is a game changer and every state in Australia, sooner or later, is going to have to live with Delta.

“That's why I’m calling on all my colleagues, other state premiers and first ministers, to stick to the national plan to make sure we give our citizens not only the freedoms they deserve but also learning to live with Covid as soon as we can.”

Ms Berejiklian slammed thousands of NSW residents who attended illegal protests on Tuesday that resulted in 150 arrests.

“It’s disappointing (when) they know the risks and they flagrantly disregard the risks, because it provides a setback to all of us,” she said.

“Attending illegal super-spreading events can be a setback for all of us … let’s not spoil all our opportunities to (live) as freely as possible, as quickly as possible.”

There were 173,913 COVID-19 tests reported to 8pm last night in NSW. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Four people died overnight with Covid-19, Ms Berejiklian added.

“Regrettably four people lost their lives with Covid,” she said. “Four females who, unfortunately, were not vaccinated and who did have underlying health conditions.

“We extend our deepest condolences to their loved ones.”

The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 has grown to 917, with 150 of those in intensive care.

Of Wednesday’s 1116 locally acquired cases, 408 were from western Sydney 372 were from southwest Sydney, 132 were from inner Sydney and 22 were from northern Sydney.

NSW deputy chief health officer Marianne Gale gave details of the four deaths.

“(One was) a woman in her 80s from southwestern Sydney who passed away at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital; she was not vaccinated and also had some significant underlying health conditions,” she said.

“We also report the death of a woman in her 60s from western Sydney who died at Concord Hospital; she was also not vaccinated and also had underlying medical conditions.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian says other states are going to have to live with Delta, that the strain can’t be defeated. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

“A woman in her 50s passed away. She was from southwestern Sydney and died at Liverpool Hospital. She was not vaccinated and also had some significant underlying health conditions.

“A woman in her 70s passed away from southwest Sydney, also at Liverpool Hospital. She was not vaccinated and also had underlying health conditions. On behalf of New South Wales Health, I extend my deepest sympathies to the families of those four ladies.”

More than 47,000 doses of vaccines were given out in NSW in the 24 hours until 8pm on Tuesday, bringing the total in NSW to 6,977,454.