NSW has recorded 65 new local COVID-19 cases but the state's premier has warned the number of infected people in the community remains stubbornly high.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Of the 65 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday, at least 35 people were out in the community for part or all of their infectious period.
For this reason, Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned on Thursday that the number of daily infections was likely to again rise in the coming days.
Read more: No more cases in Victoria but masks are back
"Whilst the case numbers are bouncing around, we are seeing a stabilisation ... they are not growing exponentially," Ms Berejiklian told reporters.
"That tells us that the settings that we have in place are having an impact. My strongest message to everybody is keep doing what you are doing."
There are 19 people in intensive care in NSW, with five ventilated.
Five million NSW residents will ensure at least another fortnight of lockdown after a run of high daily coronavirus numbers forced the state government on Wednesday to extend stay-at-home measures to at least July 30.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says relief is on its way for parents in locked down Greater Sydney, who will no longer have to pay for childcare they're not using.
The measure could benefit around 216,000 families across 3600 centres.
Infection numbers continue to rise in southwest Sydney and a new 24-hour COVID testing clinic has opened at Fairfield after people were forced to wait up to six hours in long queues at another venue.
There are now three testing sites in the area operating around the clock.
The clinics were inundated on Wednesday after new health orders were introduced requiring essential workers to get tested every three days if they work outside the area.
Two of Sydney's major hospitals are also on high alert after a nurse and a patient were both diagnosed with COVID-19.
A pregnant patient at Liverpool Hospital, in Sydney's southwest, was diagnosed on Wednesday after undergoing a procedure.
The hospital cancelled elective surgery to deep clean the operating theatre and contact tracing is underway with close contacts - including staff - being tested and isolating for 14 days, NSW Health said.
A nurse who worked at Westmead Hospital in the COVID-19 ward has also tested positive for the virus but there were no cases linked to the health worker so far, the ABC reports.
