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New Year s Eve house parties are the biggest threat to containing a new Sydney coronavirus cluster, prompting concerns that restrictions on the number of visitors allowed in homes will be flouted.
The number of visitors allowed in Sydney, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Central Coast homes has been reduced to five, including children, as a new COVID-19 cluster takes hold in the inner west.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned that New Year s Eve could be a super-spreader event if people are not vigilant.
Credit:Jessica Hromas
NSW recorded 18 cases of locally transmitted coronavirus to 8pm on Tuesday from 17,267 tests, taking the total number of cases in the state from zero to 160 in two weeks.
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NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant urged Sydney residents to resist complacency and continue to present for testing.
It comes after New South Wales recorded three new locally acquired cases of COVID, all linked to the Avalon cluster, out of 16,000 tests.
“Many weeks ago I would have been happy with 16,329 tests in a 24-hour period, for me now I would love to see those numbers pushed up, well over 20,000 to 30,000," Ms Chant said.
“By having those really high rates of testing, for those people who have got symptoms, that will give us a greater assurance that we are not missing those transmission events, particularly outside the Northern Beaches area.”