Dominic Perrottet has refused to plunge NSW back into lockdown as Omicron continues to spread with more pubs listed as exposure sites.
The premier is adamant he won’t go back to the lockdowns and restrictions that dominated before NSW reached its high vaccination rate – currently 93.3 per cent.
It comes despite the state recording more daily cases than ever before on Friday, with 2,213 new infections diagnosed in the last 24 hours.
The escalating case numbers are being driven by super-spreading events at large venues like pubs and nightclubs, exacerbated by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant.
Newcastle remains the biggest area of concern with three more venues placed on the exposure list and pub-goers told to isolate immediately.
Dominic Perrottet has refused to plunge NSW back into lockdown as Omicron continues to spread with more pubs listed as exposure sites
It comes despite the state recording more daily cases than ever before on Friday, with 2,213 infections diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday
The Great Northern Hotel was exposed to a positive case from 12.01am to close on as well as Finnegan’s Hotel from 7pm to close on December 11.
The Cambridge Hotel was also exposed from 7pm until close on December 11 and 6pm until close on December 12.
Anyone who attended the venues has been told to monitor for flu-like symptoms, get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
The rising transmission rates has prompted NSW Health to announce restricted visits to health facilities.
Patients will be allowed visitors for compassionate reasons only and to provide essential needs including palliative care and supporting women in childbirth.
All visitors must be fully vaccinated and follow mask-wearing rules.
‘We have temporarily restricted visitors to healthcare facilities due to increasing transmission rates with the emergence of the Omicron variant,’ NSW Health tweeted on Thursday night.
‘We have not made this decision lightly. We must always prioritise our vulnerable patients and staff who are arguably the most vital workers needed in a pandemic.’
The latest significant cluster emerged from a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in the Sydney CBD on Friday.
At least 97 people have tested positive so far, NSW Health said on Thursday evening, with at least some of the cases likely to be the Omicron variant.
All 600 people who arrived at the Metro Theatre after 9pm were designated close contacts and forced to isolate for a week.
The escalating case numbers are being driven by super-spreading events at large venues like pubs and nightclubs, exacerbated by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant
The Great Northern Hotel was exposed to a positive case from 12.01am to close on December 11
A series of super-spreader events in Newcastle have caused a wave of infections in the Hunter area, which was responsible for 633 of the new cases.
The majority are the Omicron variant.
Two 20-year-old men have been fined for attending one of the events – a Wednesday evening party at a nightclub – in defiance of self-isolation orders after they were designated as close contacts.
They both later tested positive. More than 200 people contracted the virus at the party.
Health authorities are now urging the Newcastle community to consider delaying social events until after Christmas to keep family gatherings safe.
Authorities are so concerned by the situation they’ve ordered the cancellation of a music festival scheduled to take place in the city on Saturday.
Finnegan’s Hotel was exposed to a positive Covid-19 case from 7pm to close on December 11
The Cambridge Hotel was also exposed from 7pm until close on December 11 and 6pm until close on December 12
It comes exactly a year after a Sydney airport worker tested positive after a run of COVID-zero in NSW.
That case set in motion a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney’s northern beaches, with the peninsula locked down and the rest of Sydney subject to caps on numbers for Christmas and New Year’s Eve events.
Testing numbers are also rising, with 143,938 results processed in the latest 24-hour period.
There were no new deaths reported on Thursday.
There are 192 people in hospital (up from 166 the day before), 26 of them in ICU (up two).
Intensive care numbers peaked at 244 in September, ten days after the state recorded its previous record of 1599 local cases.