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COVID-19 case numbers remain high in locked-down Greater Sydney and the surrounding regions, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian flags a possible announcement tomorrow about what life will look like beyond 31 July.
There were 172 cases of community transmission recorded in NSW during the 24 hours to 8pm last night, of which only 61 are known to have been in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period.
The Premier also noted there were two deaths from the virus yesterday.
There are now 171 patients in hospital with COVID-19, of whom 46 are in intensive care with 19 on ventilation.
"Time and time again cases are popping up in workplaces, amongst workers in those critical places of employment, but also in households," the Premier said.
"Tragically, I want to extend my condolences to the families and loved ones of the two older women who succumbed to the disease yesterday."
In terms of key areas of concern, Berejiklian noted the virus was becoming "more prominent" in Western Sydney than Southwestern Sydney.
"Of course we want to ask the Southwestern community to stay vigilant. In particular I want to call out and thank the Fairfield local government area who have shown a positive result in declining number of cases, but now we've seen adjoining councils in Western Sydney increase the number of cases we have," she said.
"We ask for populations in the Canterbury Bankstown area, in the Liverpool area, in the Cumberland community in particular and also the Parramatta council area to make sure that they're vigilant, they're coming forward to get tested, and you're not leaving the house unless you absolutely have to."
The Premier continued the call-out to NSW residents to get vaccinated as part of the state's "recipe for freedom", reinforcing the message that the vaccine helps protect against serious illness and reduces how infectious you are.
"Pleasingly, from tomorrow we have increased our presence of pharmacists in Southwestern and Western Sydney providing vaccinations," she said.
"From tomorrow, over-18s will be able to access the vaccining pharmacists, and from Friday our NSW Health Hubs will be able to take bookings for people over 18 years of age for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
"This is positive news in line with the health advice, so I'm asking everybody to come forward and get the vaccine."
Click here for an updated list of NSW exposure sites.
Updated at 11:33am AEST on 27 July 2021.
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