NSW records two new Covid cases as Bondi cluster grows

NSW’s chief health officer was unable to answer a major question around Sydney’s new Covid outbreak on Monday, as restrictions look set to be extended.

Sydney’s Bondi Covid-19 cluster grew again on Monday, with linked cases now sitting at 11.

And while health officials initially warned the virus was spreading through “scarily fleeting contact”, and multiple major shopping centres were added to the list of exposure sites, there’s one strange phenomenon the state’s health authorities were unable to explain.

When asked why the Bondi cluster hasn’t exploded like the Northern Beaches outbreak during the festive period, which grew rapidly to 151 cases and locked thousands down over Christmas, NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant didn’t have a definitive answer.

“It’s too early to see and this requires us to respond,” she told reporters on Monday.

“We are taking this threat very seriously and we are asking the community to do so as well.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant address the media. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“We are not out of the woods yet, we need to sustain that behaviour change and we need to get those testing rates up.

“If those individuals (positive cases) had not got tested you could see how chains of transmission (occur).”

Despite the slow growth of cases, NSW Premier Gladys Berejikian said the city’s mask mandate could extend beyond the original five-day timeline.

Gladys Berejiklian on Monday said the mask mandate was likely to continue past its expiry date, with health officials still concerned about the way the Delta variant is spreading through “fleeting contact”.

NSW has recorded two new cases of Covid-19 as Sydney’s eastern suburbs outbreak continues to grow.

The two cases were diagnosed after the 8pm reporting cut-off and will be included in Tuesday’s numbers.

One of Monday’s new cases is a man in his 30s from Sydney’s eastern suburbs. He is a close contact of a previously reported case and has been in isolation.

The other is a woman in her 50s who is a close contact of a previously reported case. She lives in Sydney’s northern suburbs and has also been isolating.

“While this isn’t a bad outcome, our level of concern is still there,” Ms Berejiklian said

“Given the situation we are in and given we don’t want to see further restrictions imposed more broadly across our city and our state, in all likelihood, the existing settings we have in place will continue beyond the five days.”

NSW recorded two locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, both of which were announced yesterday morning.

NSW Health has also been notified of two new locally acquired cases overnight. These cases will be included in tomorrow's numbers. pic.twitter.com/YrCa3XFXxQ

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 21, 2021

While the new cases were already in isolation there are concerns about the number of venue alerts and the way the virus is spreading among residents.

Four new cases were announced on Sunday. Two of those were recorded before the 8pm reporting cut-off, and the other two were included in Monday’s numbers.

Masks are now mandatory in public indoor venues – if you are not eating or drinking – if you live in or visit these seven local government areas; Randwick, Bayside, Canada Bay, Inner West, City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra.

Indoor activities where masks are mandatory include riding public transport, retail, theatres, visiting aged care facilities and also for front-of-house hospitality staff.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said testing numbers were not high enough. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

The public transport mask mandate has also been extended to Wollongong and Shellharbour local government areas because the man in his 30s who tested positive from Sydney’s CBD had also spent time in Wollongong.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said she was concerned testing numbers were not high enough.

Just 24,000 people got swabbed in the latest 24-hour reporting period.

“I would like to see those numbers today exceed 30-40,000 tests,” she said on Sunday.

“The quicker we can diagnose cases, the quicker we can get ahead of the transmission of this virus.”

The new cases have sparked a swath of venue alerts, including for a busy Westfield in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.