Sydneysiders have seen a decrease in positive Covid cases since yesterday with Gladys Berejiklian today announcing that another 15 cases of coronavirus were confirmed in NSW overnight, all locally acquired and linked to the Avalon cluster.
Berejiklian said: "To date, every single case we've had to date has been linked to the Avalon cluster, and that's how we want to keep it."
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This brings a total of 83 cases now linked to the Northern Beaches outbreak, Dr Chant said.
According to the Premier, 28,000 individuals were tested over the past 24 hours.
Berejiklian strongly encouraged that individuals wear a mask, especially on public transport where it is difficult to socially distance.
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What locations have been exposed?
Monday, 21st December: 15 locally acquired cases, all linked to the Avalon cluster. The stay-at-home direction now applies to people that have left the Northern Beaches after the 10th.
Another case has linked to Rose of Australia hotel at Erskineville - If you were there on the evening of December 15 between 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm, you are a close contact and need to get immediately tested and self-isolate.
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There are five cases linked to Turramurra Salon for Hair - if you attended the salon any time between Tuesday, December 15 and Friday, December 18 are considered close contacts and need to test and self-isolate for 14 days since they were last there.
Sunday, 20th December: Potential exposure sites were also revealed late Sunday night by NSW Health which included several locations in the northern beaches, but including one location in Sydney's eastern suburbs, and a bus route.
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Anyone who was at the following new venues is considered a close contact and should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
- Anytime Fitness, 7 Taronga Place, Mona Vale, on Thursday 17 December between 9.50 am and 12.45 pm
- G Fitness, 72/80 Evans Street, Freshwater, on Tuesday 15 December between 11 am and 12.45 pm
- 4 Pines, 313 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport, on Wednesday 16 December between 4.30 pm-9 pm
- Twenty-One Espresso, 21 Knox Street, Double Bay: Any staff working on Tuesday 15 December, and patrons seated in the indoor section on that day for more than 1 hour between 7.10 pm and 8.15 pm and 8.25 pm and 9.10 pm.
Anyone at the following venues is considered a casual contact and should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result:
- Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre, Jacksons Rd, Warriewood, on Tuesday 15 December between 6.30 pm and 9.30 pm
- Twenty-One Espresso, 21 Knox Street, Double Bay: Any patrons who were in the restaurant for less than 1 hour, or those who sat in the outdoor area on Tuesday 15 December between 7.10 pm and 8.15 pm and 8.25 pm and 9.10 pm on Tuesday 15 December
- Flower Power, 22 Macpherson St, Warriewood, on Friday 18 December between 8.45 am and 9.30 am
- Bowen Island Bakery, 383 Barrenjoey Road, Newport, on Friday 18 December between 9 am and 9.30 am. Times have been revised for the Garfish restaurant in Manly, it is now:
- Bus Route 199 on Saturday 12 December, departing Palm Beach 10.10 am and arriving at Manly Beach at 11.30 am.
Check out the map below courtesy of Covid19Data for an overview of times and locations of areas of possible exposure across Greater Sydney. You can also see a list of potentially exposed locations here.
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Where can I get tested?
You can find your closest testing centres here. Since news of the outbreak, several pop-up testing centres have opened across Greater Sydney.
What are the current restrictions?
For the Northern Beaches:
Stay at home: You must not be away from your place of residence or your temporary accommodation in the Northern Beaches unless you have a reasonable excuse, which includes:
- Shopping for food or other goods and services
- Medical care or compassionate needs
- Exercise
- Work or education, where you cannot work or learn from home.
Working at home: An employer must allow an employee to work at the employee's home or temporary accommodation if:
- They are living or staying in the Northern Beaches, and it is reasonably practicable for the employee to work from home.
- This rule applies to an employer regardless of whether the employer is in the Northern Beaches.
Public Gatherings: In the Northern Beaches, a person must not participate in a public gathering that is more than 2 people. This rule does not apply to a gathering:
- For work
- That consists only of people who live in the same household
- For a wedding, up until the end of 20 December 2020, provided there is no dancing (except up to 20 members of the wedding party) and everyone wears a face mask
- to move to a new place of residence
- to provide care or assistance to a vulnerable person
- to provide emergency assistance
- to fulfil a legal obligation, such as attending courtwhich is an essential gathering defined by the public health order.
For Greater Sydney:
Rules and restrictions that apply under COVID-19 public health orders to Greater Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong from Monday 21 December 2020 are the following:
- Visitors: The number of visitors allowed in a place of residence will be limited to 10 people. The total number of visitors includes adults and children. The limit to the number of visitors applies until midnight on 23 December 2020.
- Number of people allowed at a venue: Existing capacity requirements of 1 person per 2 square metres will be tightened to 1 person per 4 square metres in indoor areas. A maximum of 300 people, subject to the 1 person per 4 square metres rule applies for each separate area of
- hospitality venues
- places of public worship.
- Indoor religious services: Religious services held indoors are limited to a maximum of 300 people, subject to the 1 person per 4 square metres rule.
- Dancing and singing: Singing and chanting at indoor venues will not be allowed. Dance floors will not be permitted, except for weddings, where a maximum of 20 people from the bridal party will be permitted.
For the suburbs affected by this order and additional information, visit NSW Health.
Where do I need to wear a mask?
Masks are currently strongly recommended, but not compulsory in NSW. NSW Health strongly recommends that all those residing in Greater Sydney wear a mask at all times in indoor areas.
The areas where masks should be worn include:
• Shopping centres, supermarkets and retail services
• Public transport
• Healthcare facilities
• Aged care facilities
Situations where mask use is not expected include:
• In your home
• Infants or young children unable to tolerate mask use
• Where there is a relevant medical condition
Where did it come from?
According to The Guardian, Brad Hazzard told the ABC said that 'health authorities were still investigating how the virus spread from the US to the northern beaches.'
"We know a woman got off a flight from Los Angeles on 1st December. She went straight into hotel quarantine but her genomic sequencing indicates it is extremely close to the strain of the virus that is circulating on the northern beaches.
"She is certainly a person that we have got to look more closely at. How could it have possibly got from her to the beaches when she is still in a quarantine hotel? It is a human system.
"People have to accept this is a human system and if someone picked up a bag by mistake and then put it down, it could be anything that she might have handled.
"It just could be anything at all on that front. We don't know the answer at this point."
Will we be locked down for Christmas and New Years?
Brad Hazzard declined to give an estimate as to how long Northern Beaches would be in lockdown and said that the region will have to wait for the 'crisis cabinet' on Wednesday.
However, Hazzard also told ABC News Breakfast that NSW's NYE celebrations will proceed as planned for now.
On Monday, December 21st, the Premier said: "We will consider our position in relation to what Christmas and the next few days look like beyond Wednesday midnight on Wednesday morning.
Featured Image Credit: SevenTopics: Coronavirus, Australia, Covid-19
