NSW chief health officer: "Assume everyone has COVID"

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has called on more Greater Sydney residents to get tested for COVID-19, especially in the Fairfield and Bossley Park communities, after 18 new local cases of the virus were recorded for the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

Of those 18 people, five were in the community while infectious for one day while two were out and about for longer.

While the figure represents a halving of the 35 new cases reported for the prior period, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has asked people not to jump to any conclusions ahead of tomorrow's announcement as to whether the lockdown will be lifted or extended on Friday.

"New South Wales want this to be the last lockdown until we get the majority of our citizens vaccinated," the Premier said, highlighting how the Delta variant makes today's situation very different to previous outbreaks.

"This strain is very different to what we've experienced, and if you look at other jurisdictions around the world, we can see that you can't afford to let this get away from you.

"What our community want is certainty. People want to know what life will look like beyond Friday midnight, and I'm keen to provide that certainty to people tomorrow so that people can arrangements if they need to moving forward."

Dr Chant also revealed numbers of COVID-19 patients in NSW hospitals and called on more people to get vaccinated.

"Two doses of both Pfizer or AstraZeneca are very effective at preventing hospitalisation and death, so I would urge the community to respond now," Dr Chant said.

"It is important to note that we currently have 26 COVID patients that have been admitted to hospital. Of these patients, six are in ICU, two whom are ventilated.

"This is a salient reminder about the impact that COVID can have on you and your loved ones, so please as you move about the community assume everyone has COVID, follow the public health advice, and please minimise your exposure to others, particularly in indoor settings."

Updated at 12:07pm AEST on 6 July 2021.