NSW recorded 172 new local Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, its highest daily tally of Sydney’s latest outbreak.
Of these locally acquired cases, 85 are linked to a known case or cluster – 66 are household contacts and 19 are close contacts – the source of infection for 87 cases is under investigation.
The update comes as an apartment block in Sydney’s west has been locked down for two weeks after six positive cases were detected in residents.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the main focus of concern had shifted to Western Sydney.
“We are now seeing the virus becoming more prevalent in Western Sydney than south-west Sydney,” she said.
The Premier said she was hoping to announce whether the lockdown affecting Greater Sydney and its surrounds would be extended past July 31 “as early as tomorrow”.
There was better news for the state’s Central West with the Premier flagging that the lockdown in Orange, Blayney and Cabonne local government areas (LGAs) could be lifted tonight.
The state is moving to bolster its vaccination rollout with new walk-in clinics offering the AstraZeneca jab. Anyone over 40 will be able to receive the jab without a GP referral.
