Seven new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3,768. There have been no new deaths, with the total number remaining at 54.
There were 10,806 tests reported in the 24-hour reporting period, compared with 24,093 in the previous 24 hours. As COVID-19 continues to circulate in the community, maintaining high rates of testing is vital at this time, and NSW Health urges anyone with even the mildest symptoms to come forward for testing.
Of the seven new cases reported to 8pm last night:
Three locally acquired cases are close contacts of case linked to Chopstix Asian Cuisine at Smithfield RSL. Two are close contacts of a case linked to the Our Lady of Mercy College, whose source is still under investigation.
One case attended Sydney Girls High school at Surry Hills while infectious on 6, 7, 10 and 11 August. The school is closed for cleaning and will reopen on Tuesday, 18 August. Contact tracing is under way.
Another case worked at Parramatta Local Court. The person last attended Parramatta Local Court on Wednesday, 12 August, and the positive result was received on Saturday, 15 August. As a precaution, cleaning of the courthouse took place on Sunday, 16 August. All close contacts have been identified and are being contacted.
Some recent cases have reported thinking their symptoms were just flu. Little influenza is circulating at present in the community. Anyone with even mild symptoms - such as a runny nose, sore throat, fever, loss of taste or smell - should assume it is COVID-19 until proven otherwise with a simple test and isolate themselves while awaiting the result.
Positive cases have attended the venues below. Anyone who attended these venues at the following dates and times are considered to be casual contacts, and should monitor for symptoms and immediately get tested and isolate if symptoms occur, however mild:
For a list of locations associated with known cases and advice on testing and isolation, see NSW Government - Latest new and updates.
There are currently 117 COVID-19 cases being treated by NSW Health. There are seven COVID‑19 patients in intensive care and five are ventilated. Eighty-nine per cent of cases being treated by NSW Health are in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.
To help stop the spread of COVID-19:
A full list of COVID-19 testing clinics is available or people can visit their GP.
Anyone directed to undertake a 14-day self-isolation period must stay in isolation for the full 14 days, even if they test negative during this time. Early testing may not detect an infection, and release from self-isolation based on a negative test could allow an infectious person to infect others in the community. People who are infected and develop symptoms will generally do so within 14 days of exposure.
Of the known clusters, there are now:
Counts reported for a particular day may vary over time with ongoing enhanced surveillance activities.
Watch the video update.