Australia’s Most Populated State to Maintain Limit on Overseas Arrivals to 350

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks at a press conference in Homebush in Sydney, Australia on August 17, 2020. Brook Mitchell/Getty Images

Australia most populated state New South Wales (NSW) will not be increasing the limit on international arrivals after a second Sydney security guard tested positive to COVID-19 and breached self-isolation restrictions.

The guard, who worked at the Marriott Hotel in Sydney was tested on Aug. 20 and told to self-isolate for 14 days, the Guardian reported.

However, police allege he instead visited Burwood Westfields shopping centre and a government services building the next day on Friday. He received a positive test result the following day.

The 22-year old has now been issued with two fines while being transferred to a NSW Health quarantine facility.

NSW’s hotel quarantine system has been reviewed after mistakes in Victoria led to the current stage 4 lockdown in the state.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the review gave her confidence that the processes in place were right.

But she won’t be increasing the limit on overseas arrivals into NSW yet, despite recent reports 18,000 Australians overseas have flagged their intention to reenter Australia.

Berejiklian noted more than 48,000 people since March had gone through hotel quarantine in NSW.

“We are still having the burden for the nation in terms of people we are welcoming, and I don’t want to see those numbers go up at this stage,” she told the AAP.

Western and South West Sydney testing blitz

The NSW government has initiated a testing blitz on Monday, urging residents in Sydney’s West and South West to come forward for testing.

Berejiklian said COVID-19 is still circulating in the community, particularly in Sydney’s West and South West.

“This region is key to breaking the back of this wave of transmission and high testing rates in people with symptoms is crucial to stopping community transmission,” Berejiklian said in a statement.

“This is a call to anyone who lives in Sydney’s West and South West to come forward for testing with even the mildest of symptoms.

“If you run a local organisation, business, community centre, place of worship, radio station or newspaper in this area we want your help to communicate this message,” she said.

Meanwhile, NSW Health is warning anyone who was at a Service NSW Centre in Burwood in Sydney’s west between 2.30 p.m.-3 p.m. on Thursday or the nearby Westfield Shopping Centre between 6 p.m.-7 p.m. on the same day, including the KMart and Woolworths stores, to watch for COVID-19 symptoms.

Elsewhere, Tangara School for Girls in Cherrybrook in Sydney’s north-west which has been linked to 27 CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, cases is due to reopen on Monday after being closed for two weeks.