NSW recorded 291 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Of these locally acquired cases, 120 are linked to a known case or cluster – 95 are household contacts and 25 are close contacts – and the source of infection for 161 cases is under investigation.
Ninety-one were in isolation throughout their infectious period and 48 were in isolation for part of their infectious period. Forty-eight cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of 104 cases remains under investigation.
No new cases were acquired overseas in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. One previously reported case was excluded following further investigation, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 10,157.
Sadly, NSW Health has been notified of the death of a person with COVID-19. A woman in her 60s from south-west Sydney died at Liverpool Hospital. We extend our sincere sympathies to her loved ones.
The number of COVID-related deaths during the current outbreak is now 22. There are now a total 79 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
There have been 4,610 locally acquired cases reported since 16 June 2021, when the first case in this recent outbreak was reported.
There are currently 304 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 50 people in intensive care, 22 of whom require ventilation.
There were 109,547 COVID-19 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 106,954.
NSW Health administered 24,894 COVID-19 vaccines in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, including 7,495 at the vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park.
The total number of vaccines administered in NSW is now 4,221,181, with 1,610,578 doses administered by NSW Health to 8pm last night and 2,610,603 administered by the GP network and other providers to 11.59pm on Wednesday 4 August 2021.
Of the 291 locally acquired cases reported to 8pm last night, 123 are from South Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD), 84 are from Western Sydney LHD, 30 are from Sydney LHD, 24 are from Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, 13 are from South Eastern Sydney LHD, eight are from Central Coast LHD, five are from Northern Sydney LHD and four are from Hunter New England LHD.
Today, NSW Health can confirm two new cases of COVID-19 in the Newcastle area, brining the number of cases in the area to seven. There were no new cases on the Central Coast, following the nine cases announced yesterday.
Of the two new cases in the Hunter, a woman in her 60s is linked to the known Central Coast household cases announced yesterday. A woman in her 20s is a household contact of a case in the Newcastle area announced yesterday.
Twelve staff members at KFC Punchbowl in Sydney’s south-west have tested positive to COVID-19. Anyone who attended the venue at 1323/1325 Canterbury Road at any time in the seven days from Tuesday 27 July to Monday 2 August inclusive is a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result. Urgent investigations and contact tracing are underway.
NSW Health's ongoing sewage surveillance program has detected fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 in the sewage systems in Shortland and Burwood Beach in the Newcastle area and Mudgee in the state’s central west.
The samples were collected on 4 August and none of these systems have known cases of COVID-19 living in any of the areas they serve.
The Shortland sewage treatment plant serves about 60,000 people from Cameron Park, Fletcher, Maryland, Shortland, Mayfield West, Stockton, Sandgate, Callaghan, Kooragang, Fern Bay and Fullerton Cove.
The Burwood Beach sewage treatment plant serves about 225,800 people from Newcastle City area and surrounding suburbs of Dudley, Charlestown, Jesmond, Lambton, New Lambton, Mayfield, Elermore Vale, Wallsend, Kotara, Garden Suburb, Adamstown Heights, Kahibah, Highfields, Merewether, Waratah West, Georgetown and Carrington.
The Mudgee sewage treatment plant serves about 12,000 people.
NSW Health urges everyone in all of these areas to be particularly vigilant for the onset of symptoms that could signal COVID-19, and if they appear, to immediately be tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
If you are directed to get tested for COVID‑19 or self-isolate at any time, you must follow the rules whether or not the venue or exposure setting is listed on the NSW Health website.
It remains vital that anyone who has any symptoms or is a close or casual contact of a person with COVID-19, isolates and is tested immediately. When testing clinics are busy, please ensure you stay in line, identify yourself to staff and tell them that you have symptoms or are a contact of a case.
Please check the NSW Government website regularly, and follow the relevant health advice if you have attended a venue of concern or travelled on a public transport route at the same time as a confirmed case of COVID-19. This list is being updated regularly as case investigations proceed.
There are more than 410 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week. To find your nearest clinic visit: COVID-19 clinics or contact your GP.
Note: Case counts reported for a particular day may vary over time due to ongoing investigations and case review. *notified from 8pm 4 August 2021 to 8pm 5 August 2021 **from 8pm 30 July 2021 to 8pm 5 August 2021
*notified from 8pm 3 August 2021 to 8pm 4 August 2021
Video of today's press conference will be uploaded to COVID-19 (Coronavirus) - press conferences and video updates.