Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) state has reached a new record number of daily COVID-19 cases of 291, with cases now concentrated in the Canterbury-Bankstown area.
The age profile of people becoming ill with COVID-19 has also dropped, with 70 percent of new cases under 40 and 58 percent under the age of 30.
This is partly due to the younger demographic in southwest and western Sydney and higher vaccination rates among older people.
The latest outbreak has not yet peaked, with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warning people to be prepared for higher case numbers over the next few days.
That is due to the high proportion who were infectious in the community. Ninety-six new cases were in the community and 105 cases were still under investigation.
Berejiklian again focused on vaccination rates being the key to ending lockdowns as the state struggles to get case numbers under control in eight hotspot local government areas in western and southwest Sydney.
“It is tough,” NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said. “We have a mix of things. We have people who go out into workplaces and go home.”
Chant cited the example of 12 staff members at a KFC outlet in Punchbowl who tested positive for the disease.
Anyone who attended the venue at any time in the seven days from Tuesday last week is a close contact and must isolate for two weeks.
Chant said that workplaces became transmission sites “because we don’t all maintain social distancing, we don’t wear our masks correctly, we don’t get tested promptly.”
The workers took the virus home to their families, she said.
When journalists asked why fast food outlets remained open, Chant said: “This is about a balance of access to food and other things that people need.”
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