The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 344 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases and two more deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday.
File photo. Photo: AFP
Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the surge in cases seen over the last two days was likely to continue.
A man in his 90s and a man in his 30s have died after contracting Covid-19.
Berejiklian said the man in his 30s had other underlying health conditions and the man in his 90s was not vaccinated.
There have been 91 Covid-19 fatalities in NSW since the start of the pandemic.
Berejiklian has given her strongest indication yet that some of her state's Covid-19 lockdown restrictions will be eased later this month.
She said if the state kept up its rate of vaccinations, there would be six million jabs administered by the end of August.
"With six million jabs by the end of August, if achieved, there will be opportunities for us in parts of the communities where cases are low and vaccination rates are high for them to do more than they do today," she said.
The premier said health authorities were starting to see a downward trend in Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas (LGA).
"We are starting to see a decline, so that intensive work we have been doing is starting to have effect, and we are asking the community to keep going, stick to the rules," she said.
But she said there has been an increase in cases in the neighbouring LGAs of Bayside, Burwood and Inner West.
"They aren't at high levels yet but we do not want them to get higher," the premier said.
"Please note if you live in those suburbs around the Bayside, Burwood and Inner West councils be on extra alert.
Fourteen new cases were confirmed in the Hunter region overnight.
"The Hunter doesn't look like it will come out of lockdown later this week, however we will wait on health advice," the premier said.
Two more cases have been reported in Dubbo.
The premier confirmed that Dubbo will go into lockdown from 1:00pm today.
There are currently 374 Covid-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 62 people in intensive care, 29 of whom require ventilation.
Of those in intensive care, three are in their 20s, seven are in their 30s, six in their 40s, 14 in their 50s, 13 in their 60s, 16 in their 70s and three in their 80s.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said 57 out of the 62 in ICU were not vaccinated.
"Five people have received one dose of the vaccine," she said.
"We haven't got anybody in ICU that has received two doses of the vaccine."
Two new cases on the Central Coast are under investigation.
Both people are thought to have acquired their infection outside of the area.
"We ask the Central Coast community to be very vigilant and come forward in testing," Dr Chant said.
There were 143 cases in isolation throughout their infectious period and 36 were in isolation for part of their infectious period. Sixty-five cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of 100 remains under investigation.
Just under 120,000 tests were taken during reporting period.
A man who lives in Shellharbour but on occasion travelled to Sydney for work has tested positive for Covid-19.
Chant was asked whether it was legal for people from Sydney to travel to the regions to get vaccinated.
"I am appalled that people would think, at this point in time, that that is OK. Also, it is taking vaccines away from people in (the regions), which I don't agree with.
"There is plenty of access to vaccine in Sydney. I don't see that is a reasonable reason to travel."
- ABC