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More than 100 venues across Sydney have been placed on COVID-19 alert as NSW Health authorities attempt to extinguish the coronavirus spot fires that are bursting beyond the northern beaches.
There were 23 new cases of COVID-19 reported in NSW on Monday. All 15 locally acquired cases were linked to the Avalon cluster, bringing that outbreak to 83 cases. The other eight cases were returned international travellers already in hotel quarantine.
But several of the newly diagnosed local cases were infected at venues beyond the northern peninsula, putting health authorities on high alert. Christmas Day celebrations across Sydney hinge on what happens in the next 24 hours and whether health authorities can stop the spread of the northern beaches outbreak.
NSW Health Minister said he feels quite positive about Tuesday case numbers
NSW recorded 15 cases on Monday - all linked to the Northern Beaches cluster
Monday s cases were half the number recorded on Sunday, taking the total to 83
Experts say it s unlikely Sydney will experience a Melbourne-style lockdown
A federal health official said NSW has the potential be in the clear by Christmas
Paddington s London Hotel and Blacktown s BodyFit gym are among new venues
Hundreds of panicked pub-goers were wrongly told they were exposed to coronavirus and must self-isolate through Christmas.
All punters who attended Manly s Hotel Steyne on December 17 received a text from NSW Health on Monday night informing them of the grim, but incorrect, news. You have been exposed to the Covid-19 virus. You may have Covid-19 and could give it to others, the message read.
Hundreds of pub-goers have been left fuming after being wrongly told they were exposed to coronavirus and must self-isolate through Christmas (Pictured: Hotel Steyne at Manly Beach)
Punters who attended Manly s Hotel Steyne on December 17 received a text from NSW Health on Monday night informing them of the grim news
Five cases have been linked to Turramurra Salon for Hair on Sydney s north shore, one additional case is linked to The Rose in Erskineville in the inner west – taking the pub s total to two cases – and five cases are linked to a workplace in the CBD after people who caught the virus in Avalon visited the venues while unknowingly infectious. NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said it was critical that anyone who had been to these venues during the exposure period immediately isolated and came forward for testing. What we are interested in is that we don t see further transmission that is not directly linked to the Avalon cluster, Chant said.
NSW health authorities have admitted we may never know who the source of the NSW COVID-19 outbreak was, and how it spread to the Northern Beaches.
While it s suspected the cluster originated from a returned traveller from overseas who arrived in Australia on December 1, pinpointing the exact source could prove an impossible task, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant told reporters today.
The cluster of COVID-19 cases linked to the affluent Northern Beaches suburb of Avalon has now grown to 68.
There were 30 new cases of locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in NSW overnight, with 28 so far linked to the cluster, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.