Sydney’s darkest day: Five deaths in 24 hours, lockdown heads north
NSW has reported 262 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and at least 72 of those people were circulating in the community for all or part of their infectious period.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian removes her face mask as she arrives to provide an update to the latest COVID-19 situation. (AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
Five people have died – three in their 60s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s. None were fully vaccinated.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian also announced the Hunter region would enter a one-week lockdown after COVID-19 cases were revealed in the area.
“No one who has died has had both doses of vaccine. I cannot stress enough how it’s so important for everybody of all ages to come forward and get the vaccine,” Berejiklian said on Thursday.
Three cases were detected in two Hunter schools a day after Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant warned fragments of the virus had been found in the region’s wastewater system.
Lake Munmorah Public School is closed for cleaning after two students were detected with the virus. One student at Morisset High School has also tested positive.
“All staff and students are asked to self-isolate until you receive further advice,” Lake Munmorah Public School posted on social media.
The unions representing both NSW public and private school teachers are urging the NSW government to delay the return to school of Greater Sydney’s year 12 student on August 16.
The NSW Teachers Federation and the Independent Education Union of Australia joined forces on Thursday to resist the plan, saying it’s premature considering COVID-19 is still surging in Greater Sydney.
Since the end of June the highest number of COVID-19 infections (more than one quarter) had occurred among those aged 0-19 years, they said in a joint statement.
“The situation in relation to COVID-19 and the Delta variant in NSW is clear. As the premier said, ‘things are only likely to get worse’,” they said.
“As teachers, we are determined to welcome students back to face-to-face learning as soon as possible, but this can only happen when it is safe to do so.”
On Wednesday Premier Gladys Berejiklian cast doubt on when year 12 students would return to school saying, “we will have more to say about that”.
There are currently 51 COVID-19 patients in NSW in intensive care, with 24 ventilated.
Greater Sydney and surrounding regions are in lockdown until at least August 28 as health authorities battle to contain a outbreak of the virulent Delta strain.
