NSW has reported two new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 and three cases in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
NSW Health said both of the locally acquired cases were linked to known cases and clusters.
“One locally acquired case is a household contact of a previously confirmed case linked to the Liverpool private clinic cluster, which now has a total of 12 cases,” it said.
“The other locally acquired case is a close contact of a confirmed case linked to someone who attended the childcare centre at Oran Park.”
NSW Health is treating 64 COVID-19 cases, with one patient in intensive care.
“NSW is at a critical point, and the only way to find undiagnosed cases and prevent further transmission is to increase testing,” the department said.
NSW Health has thanked Sydney’s the Oran Park community for its response to our calls for increased testing.
From 1 August to 10 October, the average number of COVID-19 tests conducted each week among residents of Oran Park was 227, but during the week ending 17 October, the number of tests increased almost four-fold to 895.
However, increases in surrounding suburbs were far more modest and NSW Health continues to appeal to the community in South Western Sydney to come forward for testing right away if anyone has even the mildest of symptoms.
“This is also particularly important in Western Sydney and South Eastern Sydney, where there have also been locally transmitted cases recently,” NSW Health said.
