NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said "this is the scariest period that New South Wales is going through," as the Sydney cluster has grown by 11 infections, including a mystery case.
Despite her concern level being "medium to high," the premier resisted calls to lock down the state, saying she is "comfortable" with the restrictions that are in place, as announced yesterday.
The premier also explained that she has been identified as a casual contact, but tested negative to the virus this morning. Ms Berejiklian is also fully vaccinated.
Here's what else you need to know today about Sydney's latest outbreak.
NSW cases today.
New South Wales has recorded 11 new locally-acquired COVID-19 infections, with the Bondi cluster growing to 36 positive cases.
NSW Health figures show there were 18 new cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, 13 of which were announced earlier on Wednesday. There were another six cases detected after the 8pm cut off which will be included in Friday's official tally.
All of the new cases are linked to an existing contact, except for one.
One of those cases is a hairdresser from Western Sydney who worked in Double Bay. He is not linked to a known case or cluster. NSW Health says urgent investigations are underway to determine how he acquired the virus.
Three mystery cases in total.
Sydney has recorded three cases in total where no direct contact with a positive case has been identified.
As well as the hairdresser identified above, there is a nine-year-old at St Charles Catholic Primary School in Waverley. The Year 3 student attended school whilst unknowingly infectious. The school immediately closed, with all students learning from home until the end of Term Two.
The third mystery case in Sydney is a person who works in a health facility. Dr Kerry Chant says a positive cases attended that health facility, but they can't determine the exact crossover between the worker and the positive case.
Parliament house a potential "hot spot".
Sydney's COVID-19 crisis has now hit the NSW Parliament, after Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall tested positive to the virus.
Mr Marshall contracted the virus after dining at Christo's Pizza in Paddington on Monday night with Nationals colleagues Trevor Khan, Steph Cooke and Ben Franklin.
As a result, parliament staffers have been told to stay home. MPs inside the Macquarie Street building are undergoing rapid COVID tests. Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday she has been identified as a casual contact, causing her to get tested this morning.
Government Whip Adam Crouch has instructed MPs to "stay put" until they receive an update.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Brad Hazzard is self isolating after being exposed to a potential case at parliament.
Mr Hazzard admitted it "was likely" other MPs could be affected, noting he stands next to Premier Gladys Berejiklian every day.
Feature image: Getty.
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