The end of Wednesday saw NSW record 18 new local cases of which nine are linked to the Avalon cluster while six are from a new Croydon cluster.
Three positive tests remain under investigation out of 17,267 tests done yesterday. The number of tests conducted is significantly lower than last week.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant provided a COVID-19 update at 11am (AEDT) today announcing that from midnight tonight until further notice, households gatherings will be limited to five guests in greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Central Coast and Blue Mountains.
The news comes as venues like the Opera House bar, an outdoor cinema, Greek churches in Wollongong, and shopping centres in Figtree and Mona Vale have been visited by confirmed cases of COVID-19.
As one person that tested positive appears to have visited Greek Orthodox churches, the Holy Archdiocese of Australia issued a plea to abide by instructions concerning the pandemic.
“The Holy Archdiocese of Australia was informed by the state authorities of NSW that the Holy Parishes of St Nektarios and Holy Cross in Wollongong have been included in the list of sites, which were visited by a person who tested positive to the coronavirus,” the announcement said.
“We ask the faithful who attended the above churches during the mentioned times, namely: from 9 till 10:15am on Sunday, 27 December, at the Holy Parish of St Nektarios (39 Atchison St), and from 10:30 till 11:00am on Sunday, 27 December, at the Holy Parish of the Holy Cross (18 Stewart St), to immediately get tested and then remain in isolation, awaiting further instructions from the relevant health authorities.”
“With a sense of pastoral responsibility, we once again urge our Christ-loving people and all citizens, without exception, to faithfully follow the government’s regulations and instructions from the health experts for the protection of public health and to prevent the spread of the pandemic,” the Holy Archdiocese of Australia concluded.
Additionally, Sydney residents will be restricted from visiting aged care facilities until at least 11.59pm on 6 January 2021.
Meanwhile, Ms Berejiklian said the third Test match at the SCG was safe to conduct next Thursday with a 50 per cent capacity “because it is not a confined space”.
“The best health advice tells us outdoor, ticketed, seated events are safer than household gatherings, and that’s just a fact,” the NSW Premier said.
“The science and the data tells us the greatest chance of you getting the virus is from somebody you know in a household setting or indoor environment.”
However, Ms Berejiklian stressed that she expects case numbers to fluctuate and assured people that there will be a “tail” on case numbers as household contacts of known cases test positive.
“I’m expecting the numbers to bounce around for several weeks. But what we don’t want to see is new chains of transmission that we don’t know about,” she said.
“When you had a large concentration of cases, you do expect during the [contact tracing] process you’re going to have those household contacts who are in isolation get the virus, and obviously that pushes up the numbers.”
