NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says it is “heartbreaking” that guidelines designed to slow the spread of coronavirus are not being observed by all, as the state experiences more than 200 new cases in a day.
In the 24 hours to 8:00pm on March 26, there were 212 new cases, bringing the total to 1,617.
The state had been experiencing a brief drop in the number of new cases in recent days.
There are 29 coronavirus patients being treated in intensive care units.
Ms Berejiklian warned that “young people, in particular, can’t feel that they are immune from the disease”.
“All of us have to act as though we have the disease ourselves,” she said.
“So make sure you keep distance from people unless it is your immediate family that you are always in contact with.
“All of us have to assume that we have it, so we make sure we exercise precaution at every turn. This is the best way we can contain the spread and the best way we can have some comfort that there won’t be stricter conditions that people will find very difficult to live with.”
NSW Health Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant said community transmissions – where the origin is not readily identifiable – has increased to 170 cases.
“I am really keen to reinforce the message that the Premier has been providing about the importance of the adherence to the social distancing measures and the compliance with the isolation requirements,” she said.
“It is critical that we get compliance, to see a downturn in that community transmission and I urge the community to take this matter seriously and please comply.”
Aged care resident the eighth COVID-19 death
It comes as a 91-year-old woman has become the eighth person to die in NSW from coronavirus.
The woman was a resident at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge aged care facility in Macquarie Park in northern Sydney, where a number of residents and employees have tested positive for COVID-19.
She is the fourth resident from the facility to die, following the deaths of people aged 82, 90 and 95 earlier this month.
BaptistCare, which operates the facility, said the woman had been hospitalised earlier this week.
The woman had tested positive on March 20 but was asymptomatic.
BaptistCare chief executive Ross Low said thoughts were with all those affected.
“Words fail to express the deep sense of sadness and grief we are all feeling at this time,” he said.
The total number of cases connected to the facility is 18, including 13 residents and five employees.
NSW Health has designated the Dorothy Henderson Lodge an “active cluster investigation”, where multiple cases have emerged.
The first case at the lodge emerged on February 24.