Gladys Berejiklian says Covid-19 numbers will not go down until all rules are followed

The NSW Premier has issued an alarming warning to residents ignoring the rules about how long it could take for numbers to go down.

The NSW Premier has issued an alarming call to arms to residents, saying high numbers of cases will continue if people don’t do the right thing.

After the state recorded 478 locally acquired cases on Monday, the highest daily number of cases ever, Gladys Berejiklian was asked when case numbers could be expected to go down.

She said she and NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant “wish they knew that”.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said case numbers will continue to rise while people were ‘still doing the wrong thing’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“We will see the numbers come down when people stay home and when people don’t move about unless they absolutely have to,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Until we see that, we won’t see the case numbers go down. Unfortunately it only takes a handful of people to do the wrong thing and every day.

“NSW police has dozens of examples of people who are flagrantly just disobeying the rules. You can’t have that happen when there is such a serious disease.”

Ms Berejiklian said her message to the “small proportion” of the community who broke the rules their actions would “continue to have tragic consequences”.

“The case numbers are disturbingly high and we are at a fork in the road,” she said.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed 478 cases. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“Do we want the case numbers to come down? Are we going to live in fear and have case numbers continue to go up?

“That is up to all of us together.”

Dr Chant was then asked whether the lockdown, which began in Sydney seven weeks ago and has on this weekend grown to encapsulate the whole state, had worked.

“The lockdown has absolutely worked,” she said.

“If we did not have these restrictions on our movements, we would have seen escalating case numbers.”

The state also recorded another seven deaths.