As of New Year’s Eve:
- The Central Coast had 3045 cases from 93,609 tests
- Lake Macquarie 3759 cases from 75,522 tests
- Newcastle 4575 cases from 76,611 tests
- There were 520 cases in hospital on the Coast with 55 in intensive care and 17 requiring ventilation.
Sadly, a woman in her 90s died at Wyong hospital. She had been double vaccinated.
A second death involved a woman from Hakea Grove Aged Care facility. She was not vaccinated and had underlying health problems.
Many people ignored advice not to queue for tests at Coast testing centres unless showing symptoms or needing a test for ongoing medical treatment.
This was compounded by chemists running out of test kits, which in turn led to a social media outburst of frustration.
Tens of thousands of people have packed holiday rentals and campgrounds on the Coast over the traditional Christmas-New Year’s break. This is creating potential hot spots for outbreaks with visitors crammed together.
The NSW Government will now adopt nationally consistent principles for the definition of a close contact and isolation periods for COVID positive cases, and remove mandatory PCR testing requirements for international arrivals.
Following Thursday’s National Cabinet the NSW Government immediately implemented new arrangements for COVID cases and contacts.
