NSW recorded 825 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Of these locally acquired cases, 149 are linked to a known case or cluster – 116 are household contacts and 33 are close contacts – and the source of infection for 676 cases is under investigation.
92 cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and 38 were in isolation for part of their infectious period. 58 cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of 637 cases remains under investigation.
7 new cases were acquired overseas in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Twelve previously reported cases have been excluded following further investigation. The total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic is 16,984.
There have been 11,395 locally acquired cases reported since 16 June 2021, when the first case in this outbreak was reported.
Sadly, NSW Health has been notified of the deaths of three people who had COVID-19.
A man in his 90s from northern Sydney died at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital.
A man in his 80s from northern Sydney died at Hornsby Ku-ring-gai Hospital.
Both these men were residents of Greenwood Aged Care in Normanhurst and acquired their infections in the aged care facility.
A woman in her 90s from south west Sydney died at Liverpool Hospital. She was a patient in the geriatric ward at the hospital and is the tenth death linked to this outbreak.
NSW Health extends its deepest sympathies to their loved ones.
This brings the number of COVID-related deaths to 68 since 16 June, and the number of lives lost to 124 since the beginning of the pandemic.
There are currently 516 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 85 people in intensive care, 29 of whom require ventilation.
There were 124,610 COVID-19 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 127,590.
NSW Health administered a record 50,212 COVID-19 vaccines in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, including 10,699 at the vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park.
The total number of vaccines administered in NSW is now 5,742,211, with 2,071,896 doses administered by NSW Health to 8pm last night and 3,670,315 administered by the GP network and other providers to 11.59pm on Thursday 19 August.
Of the 825 locally acquired cases reported to 8pm last night, 290 are from Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD), 253 are from South Western Sydney LHD, 69 are from Sydney LHD, 65 are from Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, 61 are from South Eastern Sydney LHD, 38 are from Western NSW LHD, 18 are from Northern Sydney LHD, 14 are from Far West LHD, two are from Southern NSW LHD, one is from Hunter New England LHD one is from Illawarra-Shoalhaven LHD, and one is from Central Coast LHD, and 12 cases are yet to be assigned to an LHD.
NSW Health's ongoing sewage surveillance program has recently detected fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 at the sewage treatment plants in Orange and Lithgow. The Orange sewage treatment plant serves around 40,000 people, and the Lithgow sewage treatment plant serves around 12,000 people.
These detections are of particular concern as there are no known cases in Orange or Lithgow. Everyone in these areas is urged to monitor for the onset of symptoms, and if they appear, to immediately be tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
If you are directed to get tested for COVID 19 or self-isolate at any time, you must follow the rules whether or not the venue or exposure setting is listed on the NSW Health website.
It remains vital that anyone who has any symptoms or is a close or casual contact of a person with COVID-19, isolates and is tested immediately. When testing clinics are busy, please ensure you stay in line, identify yourself to staff and tell them that you have symptoms or are a contact of a case.
Please check the NSW Government website regularly: https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19, and follow the relevant health advice if you have attended a venue of concern or travelled on a public transport route at the same time as a confirmed case of COVID-19. This list is being updated regularly as case investigations proceed.
There are more than 450 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week.
