State of anxiety over spreading Sydney coronavirus cases

NSW health authorities are alarmed by a number of unconnected coronavirus cases outside Sydney’s northern beaches.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Health authorities are alarmed by a number of unconnected coronavirus cases outside Sydney’s northern beaches — despite the city recording its lowest number of new infections in 13 days.

Three mystery cases not linked to the Avalon cluster have health officials scrambling to identify a connection between the infections, compounding fears the virus may have escaped the northern beaches containment line and is spreading across Greater Sydney in the busiest period of the year.

With positive cases dispersed across Greater Sydney – in Wollongong, Sydney’s inner west and in the city’s “northern area” – investigations were ongoing on Tuesday evening, as health officials raced to determine if there is a link between the infections.

NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant didn’t rule out a link between the cases, saying it appeared each had spent time in the CBD, but Gladys Berejiklian said authorities had moved into a “very critical phase of the response”.

“Ironically, as we see time move on the threat in Greater Sydney is almost becoming equal to part of the northern beaches,” Ms Berejiklian told a press conference on Tuesday morning. “So what we do not want people to think is we’re out of the woods.

“Until those links are formally established – if they are established – all of us in Greater Sydney and greater NSW must be on high alert. Especially because there was a case of a Wollongong person who was in Sydney and tested positive this week.”

The mystery cases were in addition to the three cases – all linked to the northern beaches – reported up to 8pm Monday, the lowest number since the emergence of the Avalon cluster on December 16.

The unlinked cases added to the five with unknown sources, including a Belrose Hotel worker, Crows Nest firefighter, Manly commuter and Bondi resident, intensifying concerns the virus may be transmitting across Sydney.

While she wasn’t considering stay-at-home orders “at this stage”, Ms Berejiklian said each additional case outside the northern beaches added to her concern, and she implored Sydneysiders to ensure testing levels increased.

“We won’t impose anything on our citizens unless absolutely necessary, we aren’t there yet, so the higher rates of testing will give us confidence that we are getting on top of any of those cases,” she said.

With the Test at the Sydney Cricket Ground under a cloud, Ms Berejiklian conceded it hinged on whether Queensland counterpart Annastacia Palaszczuk gave border exemptions for players, staff and officials. “I’m extremely disappointed and we have been around the clock working to support Cricket Australia and have done the best we can do, as well as them, but their issues are beyond our control,” she said.

“We are at the behest of other state governments and I’ve said from the outset that every response has to be proportionate to the risk and we are doing everything we can, and we feel we have.

“It is out of our hands, it’s really up to what the Queensland government determines.”

After NSW Police fined 12 northern beaches residents who breached the lockdown order to attend a wedding at Doltone House in Pyrmont on Sunday evening, Ms Berejiklian said she was “absolutely aghast” at the selfishness, and the risk their actions posed to the wider community.

“We are not going to compromise public safety … all of us are shaking our heads and I want to commend police acting swiftly … if you do the wrong thing, you will get caught,” she said. “Especially when it is so brazen as to do that.”