Premier: Businesses Encouraged to Keep Customers Safe

PREMIER Gladys Berejiklian has explained the government has released information on Service NSW to assist businesses reopening to ensure they are keeping their customers safe and encouraged customers to ensure they were doing the right thing.

“You can have a covid safe environment, the health experts have told us what to do,” said the Premier.

During the staged approach of easing restrictions more testing is needed to ensure cases during the pandemic are manageable.

There were 6,899 people tested yesterday, with nine new cases and the government aims to have 10,000 people each day tested, including weekends.

“Please know that as we lift restrictions during the month of May, as there is more activity, whether it’s at school, whether it’s dropping children off, whether it’s more retail, whether it’s people visiting each other in their homes, we knew that level of activity means there is likely to be more cases that’s why we really, really need everybody who has even the mildest symptoms to come forward,” said the Premier.

“And as we get into the colder weeks and months we know people might think they’ve got a common cold or they might think they’ve got the flu, don’t take the risk, if you have the mildest symptoms please come forward and get tested, the cases we identify the more we can stop the spread and that’s really, really critical,” said Gladys Berejiklian.

Health Update

• 6,899 people tested
• 3,042 confirmed cases
• 1 death – an 88 year old female from Newmarch House
• 46 total deaths
• 9 new cases – 1 staff member at Newmarch House, 2 overseas travellers, 1 known case and 5 under investigation
• 129 cases being treated
• 13 people in the ICU
• 9 people on ventilators

Dr Kerry Chant, chief medical officer, said residents of Newmarch House did have the option to be transferred to another health facility or aged care facility, but explained many of the residents do not want to leave the facility.

Several residents have been taken to Nepean Hospital for covid and non-covid matters.

Call for Volunteers

The government has launched a website Emergency Volunteer to match volunteers with vulnerable people who need support.

Police Update

Only four infringement notices have been issued overnight, which the NSW Police Commissioner, Mick Fuller described as people who had “criminal intent”.