NSW COVID-19 local cases grow by 1480, with nine deaths recorded

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NSW has reported 1480 new local coronavirus cases and nine deaths on Wednesday, as suburbs in inner Sydney are encouraged to come forward for vaccination amid rising case numbers.

Health authorities are currently concerned about case numbers in the areas of Glebe, Waterloo, Redfern and Marrickville.

Gladys Berejiklian enters the COVID-19 briefing on Wednesday.Credit:James Brickwood

Three-quarters of the state have now received a first dose of vaccine and 42 per cent are fully vaccinated. Vaccination rates in central Sydney, however, were the lowest in metropolitan Sydney.

“While parts of western Sydney and south-western Sydney are demonstrating outstanding results, there are other parts of Greater Sydney where we’d like vaccination rates to go up,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Walk-in clinics have been established at the Peter Forsyth Auditorium at Glebe, Marrickville PCYC and Wests Ashfield.

Nine COVID-19 deaths have been recorded since Tuesday’s update, including a Dubbo resident and a man in his 20s. They were:

• The man in his 60s from Dubbo, who died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
• A man in his 90s from south-east Sydney died at St George Hospital after catching the virus at St George Aged Care Facility in Bexley, where he was a resident. He was the third death linked to this facility.
• The man in his 20s, who was from western Sydney and died at Nepean Hospital. NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said the man was unvaccinated and had “significant” underlying health conditions.
• A man in his 80s from south-eastern Sydney, who died at Prince of Wales Hospital.
• A woman in her 60s from the Nepean-Blue Mountains area, who died at Nepean Hospital.
• A man in his 70s from western Sydney, who died at St Vincent’s Hospital.
• A man in his 80s from western Sydney, who died at Westmead Hospital.
• A man in his 70s from south-west Sydney, who died at Liverpool Hospital.
• A man in his 40s from south-west Sydney, who died at Liverpool Hospital.

Dr Gale said seven of the deaths were uvaccinated. One had received one dose and one had received two doses.

People receiving their COVID-19 vaccination at Bankstown Sports Club on Wednesday morning.Credit:Louise Kennerley

Chalmers Road School at Strathfield and Brooke Avenue Public School at Killarney on the NSW Central Coast, have both been closed today following COVID-19 cases being reported in the schools’ respective communities.

After Burwood Mayor John Faker told media last week he believed his council – which has recorded 45 new cases in the past month – should be removed from the list of local government areas of concern, federal MP Fiona Martin appeared on 2GB this morning voicing a similar sentiment.

In the past month, there have been 474 new cases the City of Sydney and 246 in Randwick, both of which are not deemed areas of concern.

“It’s very difficult to understand,” Ms Martin said. “In Burwood, the rates are just not adding up to being a risk justifying the [very difficult] lockdown in Burwood, especially as the vaccination rates continue to increase.”

Burwood local government area has a population of about 37,000, while the City of Sydney’s population is about 208,000. Randwick’s population is just above 140,000 people.

There were 221 new local cases reported in Victoria on Wednesday. Six people who had gathered at a Melbourne synagogue have been fined for breaching the state’s public health order after an all-day stand-off with police.

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