NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is urging people with even the mildest symptoms to come forward for COVID-19 testing over the weekend as the state’s coronavirus restrictions are eased.
The changes to restrictions from May 1 now allow up to two adults and their dependent children to visit another household anywhere across the state.
“Please come forward even if you have the mildest symptoms,” Berejiklian said in Sydney on May 2.
“You don’t need to wait until Monday. You could be unintentionally passing on the disease without knowing you have it,” she said.
Berejiklian urged people to be cautious amid the eased restrictions, warning social distancing must still be maintained, particularly when visiting people aged over 70 or those with underlying health conditions.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said of the nine new cases, four are community transmissions and one is under investigation.
There are now 3,027 COVID-19 cases across the state, including 37 residents and 24 staff members at Newmarch House near Penrith in western Sydney.
Chant also confirmed the death of a 74-year-old male resident of Newmarch House, bringing the total number of COVID-19 related deaths at the facility to 13.
It is NSW’s 43rd COVID-19 death, taking the national toll to 93.
Chant urged people in Penrith, in particular, to come forward for testing after authorities found a strain of COVID-19 circulating in that area.
More than 2,290 people have recovered from COVID-19 in NSW, with 14 infected people in intensive care, 12 of them requiring ventilators.
The NSW government also released heat maps that identify COVID-19 cases by postcode and show how many people have recovered, the estimated number of active local cases, and the number of tests completed.
