Covid: 825 cases identified overnight

THERE were 825 new cases of covid identified in the state in the past 24 hours and the situation in western New South Wales was described as the Premier and Deputy Premier as “very grave”.

The Premier said the aim is to ensure numbers don’t overwhelm the hospital system and stressed the importance of accessing any vaccine available.

There are 516 people hospitalised with covid, 85 patients are in intensive care of whom 29 are on ventilators. Of the people in intensive care 76 people were unvaccinated and the remaining had only received one dose of the vaccine. Three people have died from the virus overnight including a man in his 90s who was unvaccinated, a woman in her 90s who had received one dose of the vaccine and a man in his 80s who had received two doses of the vaccine. Both men had serious, unrelated, health conditions.

The following cases have been recorded in regional NSW this morning:

• 32 in Dubbo
• 12 in Wilcannia
• 3 in Bathurst
• 2 in Wellington
• 2 in Broken Hill
• 2 in Goulburn
• 1 in Newcastle
• 1 on the Central Coast
• 1 in Walgett
• 1 in Naromine
• 1 Kiama

Sewerage has detected the virus in Orange and Lithgow. See the map for sewerage tests across the state: Sewerage Testing.

There were more than 681 people issued with infringement notices and 50 court attendances by police. More than 400 infringements were for people who were socialising outside their local government area for activities such as graduation celebrations and dinner parties.