Victoria prepares to announce its worst EVER daily coronavirus figures - but Gladys Berejiklian vows she won't lock down Sydney even if tsunami of cases spills over the border
Victoria is expected to record its highest figure for new daily coronavirus cases.
Premier Daniel Andrews will front the cameras at 11am to announce another triple-digit total.
According to the Herald Sun, the figure will be higher than the record of 288 on 10 July.
Melburnians exercise along Elwood Beach on Tuesday as the city suffers a six-week lockdown
A man and woman wearing a facemask walking along Lygon Street in Melbourne on Wednesday
Meanwhile, New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian has vowed to avoid locking down Sydney amid fears Victoria's outbreak is spreading north of the border.
'We can't keep going into lockdown and that is something we need to avoid at all costs,' she told Kyle Sandilands and Jackie Henderson on KISS radio.
Victoria has suffered a triple-digit increase in cases for the past ten days.
Asked if Sydney would be locked down if it saw the same infection numbers, Ms Berejiklian said: 'We would avoid that happening.'
With around one million Australians on the dole, the premier is desperate to avoid the economic damage that further lockdowns would bring.
She also ruled out suburb-by-suburb lockdown as tried in 12 postcodes in north-west Melbourne.
New South Wales will avoid lockdown 'at all costs,' Gladys Berejiklian said today (pictured: Sydney residents enjoying a meal out after restrictions eased in May)
New South Wales recorded 13 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, with ten of those cases coming from the Crossroads Hotel outbreak (pictured)
Sydney residents have been warned to watch for symptoms if they have visited one of these places, which were attended by people who have tested positive
Ms Berejiklian said locking down a suburb where an outbreak happens is ineffective because people who may have been infected there travel 'all over Sydney'.
'It's all or nothing. You can't lockdown a suburb, because [people who have passed through] live elsewhere,' she said.
Health officials are trying to control an outbreak linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, south-west Sydney.
The outbreak is understood to have began when an infected freight driver, known as Patient Zero, went to a work party at the pub after driving from Melbourne.
But Ms Berejiklian said her concern was that community transmission was happening before the border shut down, without being picked up on.
Ms Berejiklian wants to avoid having to shut down gyms (pictured in Sydney on Monday) and other businesses even if virus cases continue to grow
'Our case numbers are relatively low but what we don't know is if there was community spread months ago when people from Sydney and Melbourne were moving in and out.
'Things can get out of control very quickly,' she warned.
The premier said Victorian officials failed to spot community transmission was happening before it was too late.
Share this article
'They didn't pick it up early enough. People who should have stayed at home didn't know they had to stay at home or didn't stay at home and then that spreads through the community
'We're hoping that hasn't happened here in New South Wales.'
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant on Wednesday said there were 34 cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel, with at least 20 of them patrons.
Two of the 34 cases to date are 'tertiary' cases, or contacts of contacts.
Pictured: The Crossroads Hotel in Casula, in Sydney's south-west which has become a coronavirus cluster
Medical workers are seen giving coronavirus tests in Sydney's Bondi on Tuesday (pictured) amid fears the Melbourne outbreak may spread to NSW
Dr Chant said this highlights how rapidly coronavirus can spread, describing it as a 'stealthy' virus.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told residents not to expect the state to frequently have zero COVID-19 cases as the virus can bubble away under the surface for some time.
'This virus will continue to transmit lowly through the community and from time to time we can fully expect (this),' he told reporters.
NSW Health has also named several venues where confirmed COVID-19 cases spent time including the YMCA at Revesby, Wests Leagues Club at Leumeah, Macarthur Tavern in Campbelltown and Casula Kmart.
The Milky Lane burger joint in Parramatta and the Bavarian Macarthur restaurant in Campbelltown were later added to the list as well as Woolworths in Bowral.
The state reported 13 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, with only three of them unconnected to the hotel.
A man wearing sunglasses and a facemask walks towards parliament house in Melbourne
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
