THE northern beaches coronavirus cluster has jumped up to 28 cases, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed, calling for the state to stay on high alert and brush aside any complacency.
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Ms Berejiklian addressed the media at 11am after the cluster jumped to 17 cases by 8pm last night.
She said one person who tested positive had travelled to Queensland, where they were diagnosed after contact tracers led NSW authorities to reach out to them.
She said the community of the northern beaches had responded well to the news, but flagged that more restrictions were possible if contact tracing was unable to halt the spread quickly.
She said stricter measures were possible for the northern beaches "and perhaps greater Sydney".
"I can't rule that out until I know what the next 24 or 48 hours look like," she said.
"If we get on top of this in the next few days it means all of us can have a much better Christmas.
"At this stage we believe what we have in place is commensurate or matches what the risk is."
"The last thing any of us want to do is turn up to Christmas lunch and give it our loved ones, which is a risk at the moment with the number of cases that we do have."
The premier warned against complacency outside of the suburbs under the spotlight, delivering a "broader message of high alert for everybody around Sydney".
"It does mean there's potential seeding outside of Avalon and outside of the northern beaches," she said.
"Think about what you are doing, where you are going - it's better to be cautious than not."
Regarding the quick action from other states to implement border measures, including Western Australia slamming shut to any traveller from NSW without mandatory quarantine, Ms Berejiklian called for common sense.
"I ask everybody to just have a proportionate response to what is happening," she said.
"I ask people to consider the fact that vast parts of NSW are unaffected."
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said that flight crews were vital as they continued to bring freight into the country.
"There will always be the possibility of something creeping out from somewhere ... we just need everyone to be aware that complacency just cannot continue," he said.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said there had been a "significant seeding event" when some of those who have tested positive visited Avalon RSL on December 11 and Avalon Bowlo on December 13.
Dr Chant urged people to monitor the list of venues as they were likely to be updated regularly.
She said early indications from genome sequencing had shown similarities to an overseas traveller in quarantine's strain from the US, but the source of infection was not yet clear.
"We are looking for where that could have potentially matched," she said.
"At the moment our investigations are very preliminary."
Dr Chant said genome sequencing had shown that the virus contracted by a cab driver was most likely of US origin, which she said aligned with the theory he had become infected after transporting a flight crew.
No more cases have been linked to the driver.
Ms Berejiklian confirmed that from Tuesday air crew would have two designated quarantine hotels, down from 25 to 26 venues.
She said the problem was not the systems "but it has been people disobeying what has been in place".
Matt Carr
Matt began his Newcastle Herald career as a cadet in 2009. He is a Walkley nominated reporter who has covered councils, police and general news rounds across the Upper Hunter, Port Stephens, Maitland, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Newcastle. Now his focus is on digital storytelling and breaking news.
Matt began his Newcastle Herald career as a cadet in 2009. He is a Walkley nominated reporter who has covered councils, police and general news rounds across the Upper Hunter, Port Stephens, Maitland, Lake Macquarie, Cessnock and Newcastle. Now his focus is on digital storytelling and breaking news.
