Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) maintained its downward trend of new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday but authorities asked people to be on “high alert” after cases were detected outside the current virus cluster.
A cluster detected in Sydney’s northern beachside suburbs in mid-December has now grown to 129 cases and about a quarter of a million residents have been put under lockdown until Jan 9 as authorities battle to stamp out the virus, reports Reuters.
NSW reported three cases, all linked to the Sydney cluster, in the 24 hours to 8 pm on Monday – its lowest daily rise in coronavirus infections in nearly two weeks.
Three cases were detected after the 2000 daily deadline, which are under investigation, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.
Australia has largely avoided the high infections and deaths from the novel coronavirus compared with many other developed countries. It has recorded just over 28,300 cases and 909 deaths since the pandemic began.❐
