Premier: Brace for numbers going through the roof

THE state has reached 82.2 percent first vaccination and 52.7 percent second vaccination.

Vaccinations became available for 12 to 15 year olds last week and is already at 20 percent first dose.

The Premier warned people should brace themselves for case numbers to “hit the roof” when we reopen at 70 percent.

“I want to brace people and make sure people realise that no matter what is happening with the case numbers, what worries us is how many people will end up in hospital,” said Premier Berejiklian.

“And we just need to be aware that that hasn’t peaked yet, that is likely to peak sometime in October,” she said. 

“And we also need to accept that once we start reopening, case numbers will go through the roof but it won’t matter as much because people will be vaccinated,” Gladys Berejiklian said.

Cowra will be going into lockdown at 5pm today and anyone who has visited Cowra on or since September 13 needs to adhere to stay at home orders. A 9 year old school boy has been diagnosed with the disease and there are believed to be a number of community exposures which are now under investigation.

For regions to stay out of lockdown, it is critical that there is no community transmission from covid cases. To avoid community transmission, people are urged to be tested and isolate if they have even the mildest symptoms of covid.  Read: Why testing can actually avoid another lockdown.

Covid numbers:

• 936 cases of covid diagnosed
• 236 people are hospitalised
• 123 people are being ventilated
• 4 people have passed away
  • 2 men in their 60s
  • 1 man in his 80s
  • 1 woman in her 80s

Regional covid numbers:

• 49 – Nepean Blue Mountains
• 45 – Illawarra Shoalhaven
• 19 – Central Coast
• 10 – Western NSW
• 10 – correctional settings
• 7 – Southern NSW
• 3 – Murrumbidgee
• 2 – Far West
• 9 – cases yet to be assigned to a local health district

• 11 are from Newcastle LGA
  • 3 Shortland
  • 2 Newcastle East
  • 1 Elermore Vale
  • 1 Wallsend
  • 1 Bar Beach
  • 1 Waratah
  • 1 Birmingham Gardens
  • 1 Carrington
• 7 Lake Macquarie LGA
  • 2 Morisset
  • 2 Edgeworth
  • 1 Arcadia Vale
  • 1 Toronto
  • 1 Dora Creek
• 3 in the Maitland LGA
  • 1 Rutherford
  • 1 East Maitland
  • 1 Thornton
• 2 in Port Stephens LGA
  • 2 Tanilba Bay
• 1 in Tamworth LGA
  • 1 Tamworth
• 13 cases in hospital
• 2 are in intensive care
• 17 cases are linked
• 1 case is unlinked
• 6 are under investigation
• 15 were infectious in the community
• 8 were isolating while infectious
• 1 is still under investigation
• 742 close contacts are in isolation

Sewerage detection: Fragments of the virus has been found in sewerage samples at Dareton in far western NSW.