Testing blitz for Fairfield as NSW reports 89 locally acquired COVID-19 cases

Residents of the Fairfield local government area (LGA) who leave the zone for work will be required to get tested every three days as part of the New South Wales government's latest efforts to stamp out a COVID-19 outbreak in southwest Sydney.

The new health order comes as NSW reports 89 new cases of local transmission today, with 21 of those cases in the community while infectious.

With the majority of today's new cases reported in southwest Sydney, the NSW Government has introduced a new health order requiring residents of Fairfield who leave the area for work to get tested every three days even if no symptoms are present.

In addition to Fairfield, health authorities have also called upon increased testing for residents of Roselands, Rosebery, Canterbury, Belmore, Sutherland Shire, St George, West Hoxton, Glenfield and Green Valley.

"In addition to Fairfield local government area they're the areas we want increased testing," NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

"This reflects past risk. Every time anyone leaves their home, they should assume that anyone they're interacting with has COVID and act accordingly to protect themselves and their loved ones."

Of the new cases, the majority were acquired by household and close contacts, with only a few unlinked, which Dr Chant says highlights the importance of only interacting with those in the same household.

"It is essential that we stay at home and only leave home for the most essential reasons," Dr Chant said.

"Do not visit other family members in other households. The unit we want to keep together is the household. We do not want you inadvertently spreading it to other family members by visiting them."

Sadly, a man in his 70s who was a confirmed COVID-19 case died yesterday - the second casualty of Sydney's latest outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The outbreak has also spread to regional NSW, with one of today's new cases reported in Goulburn - about 200km from Sydney. 

As such, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was keeping a "very close eye on what's happening in NSW".

"I just want to reassure Queenslanders that if it gets to the stage that we have to close we will," she said.

"But at this stage we are monitoring it every single day."

Updated at 11.30am AEST on 13 July 2021.