NSW records 283 new local COVID-19 cases and one death, as Tamworth prepares to join lockdown

NSW has recorded 283 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases and one death

A woman in her 90s with COVID-19 who was in palliative care died overnight, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday.

“Our deepest heartfelt condolences to her loved ones, all deaths are horrible during this time,” she said.

The premier said that of the new cases reported on Monday, at least 64 were infectious in the community.

She urged those in the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area and surrounding suburbs to remain vigilant, as it remains “the epicentre of the virus in NSW and Sydney”.

Meanwhile, the Tamworth local government area will go into a one-week lockdown from 5pm Monday, after an infected person from Newcastle visited a number of locations.

Dr Kerry Chant said the young lady who arrived in Tamworth on 5 August was not aware she had the virus at the time and is now isolating in Newcastle.

“There aren’t any cases there yet, but we do know the person went from Newcastle to Tamworth and visited a number of locations,” Ms Berejiklian said.

The ICU director at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Dr Richard Totaro, urged people to get vaccinated, saying it would ease the burden on hospitals.
“The striking thing is that there is no one in the ICU after having had two vaccines,” he said.

He urged young people to also be aware of the risk.

“We have had people (in ICU) who are physically fit and well and had no underlying health conditions.”

Source: sbs.com.au