Tighter restrictions could return to NSW as soon as tomorrow, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned, saying the "probability of contagion given what's happening in Victoria is extremely high".
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At her morning update, Ms Berejiklian said she would be providing more details about the types of public gatherings which may be rolled back in the next 24 hours.
"It won't be anything major but we are considering tweaking some health orders in NSW to ensure additional safety in relation to some types of gatherings and we will have more to say about that tomorrow morning," she said.
"We will be stepping up compliance in relation to businesses across the state.
"[We are] concerned with the lack of compliance in NSW in some hospitality venues in particular cafes and restaurants, basic things like sharing a salt and pepper shaker."
Saying she was extremely concerned that what is happening in Melbourne could occur in NSW, Ms Berejiklian said border communities were also "on notice" and said decisions and announcements that may affect their ability to travel could be made in the coming days.
For instance, she flagged that another "border", north of Albury could be put in place to stop residents from leaving the area, and warned other residents of NSW not to travel to Albury or other border towns.
"Communities like Wagga and others who have close interaction with Albury, I ask you not to visit those border communities unless you absolutely have to," Ms Berejiklian said.
"If you live on a border community and you're a NSW resident. please do not travel outside of your border community at this time.
"We are in a high risk situation and I don't want to see the good work we've done in NSW undone."
She said anyone in places close to the NSW border, like Ballina and Merimbula, as well as holiday hot spots, should be tested as soon as any mild symptoms of coronavirus presented.
"We have to protect the community," she said, saying she would not apologise for bringing in any stricter COVID-19 measures.
"I ask anybody who feels that their freedom is limited, think about the consequences."
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said there had been eight new cases in the past 24 hours, seven of which were in hotel quarantine.
The eighth is a woman in in South West Sydney, with the source of her case under investigation.
Dr Chant also reported that a Victorian teenager holidaying in Merimbula on July 4 had been advised he was COVID-19 positive.
The teenager was not from a Melbourne hotspot and his family was initially advised, before going on holidays, that their COVID test was negative, Dr Chant said.
"But then when they arrived in NSW they were advised that was an error and the test was positive," she said.
She said the family had visited Tathra Hotel, with 80 other patrons who were in the hotel being contacted by NSW Health.
"Pleasingly, the Tathra Hotel did have a COVID safety plan and the risk to other patrons has been assessed as very low," Dr Chant said.
With the Premier flagging concerns about non-compliance in hospitality businesses, Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello made a plea to all businesses to put in place a COVID safe plan,
He said the government would be cracking down on compliance in the coming days.
Ms Berejiklian also said Services NSW had processed 50,000 permits to cross the border overnight, but flagged that these may become harder to obtain in the coming days if the government thought it had been too lenient.
Further, anyone flying in to Sydney from Melbourne may face a mandatory hotel quarantine, which they will have to pay for, if the government feels self-isolation is not being complied with.
Already, anyone returning to NSW will be subject to police checks during their 14-day isolation.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
