As it happened: Sydney records 17 COVID-19 cases; northern beaches on high alert

Residents of Sydney’s northern beaches have been asked to stay at home and work from home for the next three days amid a growing cluster in the area.

NSW Health said they must stick to their household group, avoid unnecessary gatherings, and avoid visiting high-risk venues including clubs, restaurants, places of worship and gyms.

“Do not visit friends or relatives in aged care facilities or hospitals unless essential,” it said. “Avoid unnecessary travel outside the northern beaches area.”

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said some cases detected today were in people who had very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

“Don’t hesitate. Get out and get tested with the slightest possible symptoms. Even if you’re feeling just a bit tired,” he said.

His personal advice to residents was to wear a mask. Masks will be handed out to commuters at Wynyard train station, B-Line bus stops, which connect Wynyard and Mona Vale, and Circular Quay ferry wharves on Friday.

Genome sequencing is under way to confirm the cases are linked.

Contact tracers are searching for the source of a potential super-spreader event at Avalon RSL, after three patrons - a woman in her 60s, a man in his 70s, and another man in his 60s - tested positive for the virus after visiting the venue on December 11.

The source of the infections is not known but NSW Health authorities are highly suspicious that it is someone who has flown in from overseas.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard implored people on the northern beaches to stay at home.

“We need as many people on the beaches to stay put and give us time to sort this out and stay put,” Mr Hazzard said.

“The number of cases in one day is a sobering reminder of what this virus can do.

“Our particular concern is to make sure residents of the northern beaches don’t run the risk of seeding other areas across Sydney in their normal daily travels.

“We also need them to as far as possible stay at home, try and restrict to normal family groups and get tested if you have any symptoms whatsoever.”

Mr Hazzard said some cases detected on Thursday were in people who had very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.

“Don’t hesitate. Get out and get tested with the slightest possible symptoms. Even if you’re feeling just a bit tired,” he said.

His personal advice to residents was to wear a mask.

“Seventeen cases is an indicator that we have an issue we have to resolve. We need a little time and we need the help we usually get from residents on the beaches. That involves not leaving the beaches if you can humanly stay on the beaches and preferably stay at home,” he said.

That’s it for tonight. You can follow Friday’s coverage here.

After a couple of weeks of zero community transmission in NSW, there’s been a dramatic turn of events with 17 positive cases found in the northern beaches and one detected in south-west Sydney in just two days.

As we reported earlier, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to front the media on Friday morning. We’ll be running a new live blog from early on Friday morning to keep you up to date with the latest developments.

Here’s hoping that our world-class contact tracers will be able to track down every case and prevent the outbreak from spreading further so we can all enjoy our upcoming Christmas and New Years celebrations. Good night.

Virgin Australia says it is providing fee-free changes to bookings until 31 January 2021 as part of its Passenger Promise.

It comes amid new travel advice from the WA government and the Victorian government in response to the northern beaches outbreak in NSW.

“Due to the evolving situation in NSW, some states and territories are implementing revised border restrictions,” a Virgin Australia spokesman said.

“Customers should ensure they check the latest information on the respective Government websites prior to travel.

“While NSW services are currently operating as normal, changes to customer demand and booking trends may require us to adjust our forward schedule.

“Any impacted customers will be provided with options to rebook on alternative services or be able obtain a travel credit for use at a later stage.”

NSW had recorded zero COVID-19 community transmission since December 3 until Wednesday, when a case was discovered in a 45-year-old man who works as a van driver shuttling airline crew between Sydney Airport and their accommodation.

The graphs below from covid19data.com.au show trends in daily new cases and daily testing numbers.

A northern beaches pub has confirmed that a person who tested positive for COVID-19 had been on its premises on Tuesday, December 15 between 6pm and 7.30pm.

The Narrabeen Sands Hotel said it had high standards of cleaning and hygiene and the venue would undergo a deep clean overnight.

“Anyone who was at the venue during this time for an hour or more is deemed a close contact and must get tested and self isolate for 14 days,” a hotel spokesman said.

“We have provided NSW Health with contact details of staff and customers at the hotel during that period.”