NSW records one new locally acquired coronavirus case linked to the Berala cluster

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant Source: AAP

NSW has recorded one new locally-acquired COVID-19 case as the premier warns the state continues to mop up virus transmission.

The sole case in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday was in a child who was a close contact of a previously confirmed case linked to the Berala cluster in western Sydney, which now numbers 28 people.

Six COVID-19 cases were uncovered in NSW hotel quarantine.

NSW recorded one new locally acquired case of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

Six cases were also recorded in returned travellers, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,852. pic.twitter.com/omlfGcOASd

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 13, 2021
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday also confirmed a COVID-positive man, who presented to Mount Druitt Hospital with respiratory symptoms, and his partner are linked to the Berala cluster.

There were more than 20,600 tests in the 24-hour reporting period.

“We have to stay on the high alert we have been in the last few weeks – we are definitely in the mop-up stage,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

“We don’t want to see any super-seeding events, we don’t want to see super-spreading events.

“We don’t want an occasion where someone who may not know they have the virus unintentionally passes it on.”

There are more than 350 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week. To find your nearest clinic visit https://t.co/LmeATIQK4Z or contact your GP.

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 12, 2021
On Tuesday, Ms Berejiklian said it was unlikely any coronavirus-prompted restrictions in Greater Sydney would be eased this week, and mandatory mask usage would not change in the near future.

She also backed her state’s contact tracing teams, saying their work enabled the government to make decisions that didn’t place “unnecessary burdens” on residents, such as keeping interstate borders open.

One COVID-19 patient in NSW is in hospital in intensive care and on a ventilator.

Public health alerts remain for dozens of hotspots, including a shopping centre in Warriewood, a post office in Hurlstone Park and a workers club in Blacktown.

A casual-contact alert was issued on Tuesday night for The Groomsmen Barber Shop inside the Warriewood shopping centre.

NSW Health has been advised of a new venue in the Northern Beaches visited by a confirmed case of COVID 19.

This information will be updated on the website shortly. pic.twitter.com/uDoMEZVzCF

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 12, 2021
Meanwhile, the ACT and Northern Territory have lifted travel restrictions for residents of the Central Coast, Wollongong and some parts of Greater Sydney.

SBS