NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned NSW residents to “brace themselves” for more coronavirus cases as the cluster continues to grow.
“We have had further cases overnight,” Ms Berejiklian told Today.
“I do want to ask everybody to brace themselves. We are going to definitely have more cases today.”
More than 250,00 residents in the Northern Beaches are being told to stay home for the next three days.
Berejiklian will announce how many more cases have been recorded since last night in an update with Chief Medical Officer Dr Kerry Chant at 11am.
She’s warned residents to be on “high alert”.
“The number of people who are at the RSL event on December 11 and then the bowling club on the following Sunday were substantial and obviously they have got household contacts and contacts of theirs,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It is really important for the community of the Northern Beaches to not leave home unless they have to. Not do anything unless it’s essential.
“But all of us in broader Sydney have to be on high alert.”
States and territories have been quick to impose border restrictions on people travelling from NSW in response to the outbreak, which is heartbreaking news for those hoping to travel to be with their families on Christmas.
Queensland’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said that if you’re already in Queensland and have travelled from NSW, you’re required to get tested for the virus and remain quarantined until 14 days after the date you’ve left the Northern beaches.
The same rules apply if you arrived in Queensland after midnight on December 18th, but if you’ve arrived in Queensland after 1 am on Saturday, you’ll be required to go into hotel quarantine at your own expense.
In Western Australia, anyone arriving from NSW from Friday onwards will be required to quarantine for two weeks. If you’ve arrived in Western Australia since December 11, you must get tested and self-isolate until you get a negative result.
Tasmania has taken a harsher approach and banned anyone whose been in the Northern Beaches area on or since December 11th.
Northern Territory has declared the area a hotspot and announced that anyone travelling to the area from that region must undertake 14 days of supervised quarantine at a cost of $2,500 per person.
Victoria has asked anyone whose been to the area since December 11th to “stay at home and get tested tomorrow”, but there’s currently no restrictions from the ACT or South Australia.
