Promising sign Sydney lockdown could end on time after 22 new cases

Sydney’s two-week lockdown will be on track to end on time as long as one thing doesn’t change, Gladys Berejiklian has said.

Sydney could be on track to open back up on time if the majority of coronavirus cases continue to be discovered in people already in isolation, the NSW Premier has said.

Of the 22 new cases reported on Wednesday, half were in isolation – a promising sign that means those people are less likely to spread it to anyone outside their household.

“I want to thank everybody for your efforts,” Gladys Berejiklian said.

“I just remind everybody that if we continue to do the right thing, if we make sure we are following the health advice, that we can get out of this in the time-frame we’ve described.”

But she cautioned the next couple of days would be crucial to finding out if the promising trend continues.

With a day’s reporting lag and up to 48 hours between getting tested and receiving a result for some, the numbers reported today would reflect tests done around the end of the weekend.

Gladys Berejiklian said the latest coronavirus results were promising.

Sydney went into lockdown on Saturday and is slated to open back up again two weeks later, on July 9.

“What we want to see moving forward in terms of positive trend is a higher proportion of people in isolation for the full time of their infectiousness,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“That is something our health experts will be looking at, (chief health officer Dr Kerry) Chant advised us that that’s one of the key things that Health looks at when talking about the success of a lockdown.

“So what is really important for all of us, is to keep doing the right thing because if we keep doing the right thing, everything we hope to achieve can be achieved in the time-frame that we've discussed.”

Out of the 11 new cases that were in people who were already isolating, five had been indoors for their entire infectious period.

The other six had been in the community for a few days while potentially infectious.

Ms Berejiklian also said the previous day’s high number of coronavirus tests, more than 68,000, would also contribute to staying on top of the spread.