Why Joh Bailey's flagship salon is the BIGGEST concern in Sydney's Covid outbreak – as it's revealed a hairdresser travelled between her home and sydney's west for DAYS before testing positive
- Australian hairdressing icon's flagship salon becomes biggest Covid concern
- Joh Bailey's Double Bay hairdresser has been listed as high-exposure site
- An infectious person attended - with hundreds of people potentially in contact
- Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed 11 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday
Australian hairdressing icon Joh Bailey's Double Bay salon has been listed as a location for a potential superspreader event
A hairdressing salon frequented by Sydney's high society is the biggest concern for health officials as they battle to contain Sydney's latest outbreak.
Joh Bailey's in Double Bay, in the city's eastern suburbs, could spread the virus across Sydney, after a hairdresser worked for three dyas while infectious - putting hundreds of people at risk.
Mr Bailey on Thursday afternoon confirming the salon would be shutting down temporarily for cleaning and contact tracing, with three female customers already testing positive..
'We wish to express our deepest gratitude to NSW Health for their incredible efficiency and support during the ongoing Covid-19 NSW outbreak,' the salon wrote on its Instagram.
'In light of this, our Double Bay salon will be temporarily closed for deep cleaning and we will advise our re-opening date in due course.
'An enormous thank you to our valued clients and community who have reached out with messages and support of kindness.
'It is appreciated so much and we in turn wish everyone to remain safe, healthy and supported during this challenging global pandemic.'
Joh Bailey's Double Bay hairdresser has been listed as a location for a potential superspreader event - putting hundreds of people at risk of infection
The founder took to Instagram on Thursday afternoon confirming the salon would be shutting down temporarily due to contact from a coronavirus-positive patron
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured on Wednesday) has so far managed to fend off a lockdown, instead bringing in restrictions including limited visitors to the home and mandatory masks - even in offices
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned on Sydney is going through the 'scariest period' of the pandemic yet but refused to impose a city-wide lockdown as she confirmed 11 new local cases of Covid-19 overnight.
The 11 additional cases includes six recorded overnight since 8pm and five unreported infections from Wednesday's figures.
All but one of the new infections is linked to a previous case.
There are now 36 cases linked to the Bondi cluster, which forced the NSW premier to impose widespread restrictions to slow the spread of the highly-contagious Delta strain of the virus.
The positive community cases came from 48,402 tests, up from the 44,640 carried out the day before.
NSW Health said 11 of the 30 people who went to a 'super-spreader' birthday party in West Hoxton in Sydney's west had now returned positive Covid-19 results.
Covid cases are on the rise in Sydney (pictured, a couple in mandatory masks in Manly)
New South Wales has recorded 11 new local cases of Covid-19 overnight. Commuters pictured wearing face masks on a train platform at Central Station on Wednesday
Ms Berejiklian said she was comfortable the restrictions announced on Wednesday were sufficient to contain the outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant.
'This is perhaps the scariest period that New South Wales is going through, and [NSW Chief Health Officer] Dr Chant and I have an equal view of that,' she said.
'It is a very contagious variant but at the same time we are comfortable that the settings we have in place are appropriate.'
Fears were earlier mounting that millions of Sydneysiders may soon be confined to their homes as the virus spreads across the city.
The uncertainty gripping the Government comes as NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and four other MPs were forced into isolation after being close contacts of Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall, who has tested positive to Covid-19.
He contracted the virus after dining at Christo's Pizzeria in Paddington in Sydney's inner-east on Monday night.
Mr Hazzard believes Premier Gladys Berejiklian is 'fairly safe' from becoming infected, although discussions were underway about closing Parliament. The parliament's whips sent notes to MPs members urging them not to bring in staff before both houses sit on Thursday.
MPs who were at Parliament House on Tuesday or Wednesday have been told by the NSW Department of Parliamentary Services to self-isolate until told otherwise.
Those who live and work in seven hotspot suburbs will not be allowed to leave metropolitan Sydney unless they have an essential reason
Lockdown-happy premiers in other states including Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland have already slammed their borders shut, disrupting school holiday plans for thousands.
On Thursday, Queensland recorded three new local cases after an infected woman in her 30s visited the Portuguese Family Centre restaurant in Ellen Grove in Brisbane's south-west.
Ms Berejiklian, who has always strived to take a measured approach to outbreaks, has so far stood firm by refusing to lock down Sydney, instead bringing in a number of restrictions including limits of five visitors to a household and mandatory masks.
However, in the face of a growing number of cases, a senior health source admitted to Daily Mail Australia that the trend of infections is 'not good'.
When asked about a potential lockdown, the source said: 'It certainly looks like that's where we are heading.'
Four new mystery infections have contributed to widespread speculation that the city will be locked down by the end of the week, with sources telling the ABC and 7 News such restrictions could be imminent.
The Delta variant is so contagious that two people in Bondi this week caught Covid by momentarily brushing past each other.
While other premiers have locked down state capitals after just two cases, Ms Berejiklian has always tried to strike a balance between public health and economic and mental wellbeing.
But she conceded that the approach may have to change if cases begin to spiral out of control, particularly those not linked to known outbreaks.
'We have always said we will not burden our citizens unless we absolutely have to,' she said on Wednesday.
'If we need to take further action within the week or after the week, we are open to that.'
Mr Hazzard rubbished claims that a lockdown is imminent, saying they have 'zero' truth to them.
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