NSW has recorded 12 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, taking the state's total to 2994, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said on Saturday afternoon.
"I'd remind everybody that is still far better than it was at the end of March," he said.
"About 27 March, we had 212 people who tested positive... in a 24-hour period. We are certainly doing a lot, lot better."
A 96-year-old woman who died on Friday was a resident of Caddens' Anglicare Newmarch House, where two staff members and two residents were also diagnosed with COVID-19 on Friday.
Six residents have now died of coronavirus at the aged care home. "To the family of that lady, I want to express all of the community's condolences," Mr Hazzard said.
There is now a total of 48 cases at Newmarch House, comprised of 17 staff and 31 residents.
Mr Hazzard said a worker at another aged care facility began suffering coronavirus symptoms within 48 hours of working a shift. He declined to name the facility.
"It's a trigger for NSW Health and our federal government colleagues to implement what is necessary in terms of the tracing," he said.
"I would like to be open and transparent, but at this stage I don't think it's appropriate to name the facility. This COVID-19 is very much a rolling situation, the families at this point have not been notified and nor have the staff."
Mr Hazzard said on Saturday that 4840 tests were carried out on Friday, significantly lower than the nearly 8000 carried out on Thursday.
Mr Hazzard also said he felt a degree of "disappointment and agitation" after people flocked to the newly-opened beaches in Sydney's eastern suburbs and disregarded the 1.5-metre social distancing requirements.
Randwick City Council closed Coogee, Clovelly and Maroubra on Friday afternoon because of crowding, but re-opened the three beaches for exercise for several hours on Saturday morning.
Herald photographers there captured hundreds of people on the sand pre-9am.
Crowds flocked to Coogee Beach on Saturday morning, prior to the beach being closed at 9am. Credit:Cole Bennetts
"I have to express, as NSW Health Minister, a degree of disappointment and agitation about the fact that some people, when the rules are relaxed [and] we try and do the right thing by giving people the opportunity for outside exercise, people are disregarding the very strong message of social distancing," he said.
"We're the biggest jurisdiction in this country, we've had by far the most cases. we know that there is a degree of [community] transmission, we keep saying keep your 1.5-metre social distance.
"My message to the community is as the councils and government try to do the right thing by giving a little more in the way of space and time, you've got to stick with the 1.5-metre social distancing.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb said she was not sure if "arrogance, ignorance or entitlement" is to blame for people failing to adhere to social distancing requirements. "It's about 1 per cent of the population that are not adhering. It's certainly frustrating for police," she said on Saturday.
"We have had some instances on the beaches late this morning in some areas where people aren't, they aren't out with a reasonable excuse, they are actually out and not exercising."
Bathers at Maroubra at dawn on Saturday before the beach was closed.Credit:James Alcock
Police are only issuing penalty infringement notices in a "very small number of cases", Assistant Commissioner Webb said. "We give warnings on most occasions."
There was also a localised outbreak of the disease in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.
"In the last 24 hours we're seen a small number of cases in the area. We're keen that people in the Blue Mountains area, if you have any minor symptoms of fever or respiratory illness, cough, runny nose, come forward," said NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty. "We would like to get you tested."
Sally Rawsthorne is a Crime Reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-04-25 03:16:39Z
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