NSW records 1259 new coronavirus cases as 80 per cent single-dose vaccine milestone hit

The curfew in high-risk Sydney LGAs will be lifted tonight after New South Wales passes the 80 per cent single-dose milestone.

Despite ending the curfew, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said now was not a time for residents to become complacent.

“We can’t move on anything else just now. We need everybody to hold the line,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“Please make sure that if you live in those local government areas of concern that you stick to every other rule that’s in place.”

NSW has recorded 1259 new cases of coronavirus and 12 further deaths, a jump in infections from yesterday.

Ms Berejiklian said 80 per cent of people in the state have now received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

More than 47.5 percent of people in the state have had both doses.

Ms Berejiklian called it an outstanding result.

“To reach our first dose of 80 per cent is a huge tribute to everybody in the community and some of our communities in western and south-western Sydney have vaccination rates closer to 90 per cent,” she said.

Ms Berejiklian has stressed that once NSW hits a double-dose vaccination rate of 70 per cent, the freedoms given to residents will only apply to those who are fully vaccinated.

“At 70 per cent double dose, you will be required under health orders, to only be able to frequent venues if you’re vaccinated. I want to make that clear,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“It’s black and white. If you’re not vaccinated, you can’t go to a restaurant. You can’t go to a cafe.”

Hospitality venues operators are calling for a public health order to make it clearer about turning away non-vaccinated patrons.

New modelling from the Burnet Institute released yesterday says tough lockdown rules, and not increasing vaccination rates, had the greatest impact on slowing the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant in hotspot areas.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said people in Young, Wagga Wagga and Mudgee should come forward for testing after an infected person visited all three towns.

Meanwhile, a western Sydney aged care home where 19 residents died from coronavirus in the peak of the outbreak last year is in lockdown this morning after a fresh scare.

Newmarch House in Caddens, near Penrith, is on high alert after a doctor, who tested positive to COVID-19, visited the home three times last week.

So far, no residents or staff have been infected with the virus. The majority of those living and working at the Anglicare-owned facility are believed to have been vaccinated.

Newmarch House was one of two major clusters in aged care facilities last year, after an outbreak at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Macquarie Park.

Yesterday, NSW recorded 1127 new local cases and two deaths.

The NSW Government is also trialling home quarantine on some double-vaccinated returning travellers.

Seventeen Paralympians are taking part in the 14-day quarantine period inside their homes after exemptions by the state government.

The exemptions were granted due to the athletes having “high care needs, including equipment requirements” according to a statement published in the Sydney Morning Herald.

All Paralympians who competed in Tokyo had to be double-vaccinated before departure, with those quarantining at home undergoing the same COVID-19 testing as those in the hotel system.

It follows the successful trial of a home quarantine app in South Australia with hopes it could be opened up to selected foreign travellers as early as next month.

The program is in its second stage with 90 ADF personnel who returned from various lower risk COVID countries.

Source: 9news.com.au