NSW records 2,501 new COVID-19 cases as debate over restrictions grows

NSW has recorded 2,501 new cases of COVID-19 as the state’s premier resists calls to reimpose restrictions.

It comes as the state recorded Australia’s highest daily COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began on Sunday, hitting 2,566 infections and zero deaths.

Meanwhile, Victoria recorded 1,302 new cases and zero deaths on Monday. On Sunday, Victoria reported 1,240 infections and four deaths.

Calls for NSW to reintroduce restrictions

As NSW continues to set national records for daily COVID-19 infections, the premier is resisting calls to reinstate mask mandates but says he will act if required.

A day after NSW recorded 2566 new COVID-19 cases and with Christmas fast approaching, Dominic Perrottet has written an editorial in the Daily Telegraph calling for calm.

“Case numbers are bound to rise, just as the modelling predicted, and we are all likely to have a close encounter with COVID,” he said.

“This is not to be taken lightly.

“The safety of the community is and always will be our top priority, and if the trajectory of an outbreak appears likely to put our health system under excessive pressure, we will change our approach, tailoring it to the circumstances and the evidence,” he said.

“For now, that is not the case.”

NSW is urging people to keep wearing masks indoors while other health experts are calling for mask mandates to return in those settings.

However, Mr Perrottet said it is a personal decision.

“It is time to shift the balance back to personal responsibility because a strong, healthy society is built not on the dictates of government, but on the common pursuit of the common good,” he said.

On Sunday he insisted high testing rates, high vaccine rates and booster shots would protect the community.

Almost 60,000 booster jabs were administered by NSW health workers last week, up from 15,000 the week before, and NSW Health is aiming to administer double that number this week.

Mr Perrottet said rising case numbers were “the new normal” and the key metric was intensive care presentations.
It is “incredibly positive” that they have so far held steady despite a huge surge in infections, he said.

There are 28 COVID patients in ICU wards around the state with that number hovering around the mid-20s for a month.

The majority of ICU patients continue to be people who are unvaccinated or who have received only one shot of a COVID-19 vaccine.

Hospital numbers have increased, and now stand at 227 compared to 156 a week ago.

NSW Health is urging residents to socialise at the beach or other outdoor settings.

The agency also wants residents to consider using rapid antigen tests – which retail at about $10 to $15 each – before they go out.

More to come.

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is resisting calls to reintroduce a mask mandate and additional restrictions as the state recorded 2,501 new cases on Monday.

Source: sbs.com.au