NSW ‘on the verge’ of return to COVID crisis

NSW is nearing a tipping point, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian warning the state is ‘on the verge of being where it was’ in March.

The A2Z Medical Centre in Lakemba in southwest Sydney is at the centre of a COVID-19 cluster. Picture: Jonathan Ng

NSW is nearing a tipping point, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian warning the state is “on the verge of being where it was” during March and April when it entered lockdown.

The warning came after 11 new cases of COVID-19 were detected and clusters in Sydney’s southwest continued to grow.

Ms Berejiklian said it was “the most concerned” she had been since the outbreak at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula that saw a wave of infections ripple out across the state in July.

Nine of the new cases confirmed on Wednesday were linked to the Lakemba-GP cluster, the source of which remains unknown.

The danger is so great the NSW government walked back from its easing of social-distancing restrictions and bookings of greater than 10 people, which it announced on Tuesday.

“I always said in NSW, back in February and March, when the severity of COVID became apparent, that I don’t want to be in a position where we go backwards,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We feel confident we can maintain the 2sq m outdoor rules from Friday.

“Should the health advice remain concerning we won’t be able to make further changes to restrictions because it is important to know what tomorrow’s numbers are going to be.”