Authorities in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have warned both the public and businesses against becoming complacent, following a spike of locally acquired COVID-19 infections in Sydney.
The city recorded five new instances of local transmission on Friday largely in the southwestern suburbs, in addition to eight the day before, which followed close to two weeks of no community spread.
All of the cases reported on Friday were linked to known clusters, however several venues and public transport services were flagged as being exposed to the virus. Anyone displaying symptoms, particularly those in the vicinity of known cases, was told to get tested.
"We know that when you have a few days of no community transmission as we did, people do get a bit complacent and that's understandable -- but we need to shock ourselves out of that complacency," NSW State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Berejiklian also came down hard on businesses that failed to comply with government mandated measures to combat virus spread.
"I'm normally a tolerant and patient person, but my patience is waning on businesses that don't do the right thing," Berejiklian said.
"If any business is found to have been negligent in their responsibilities or purported to have a COVID-safe plan and didn't act on it, the full force of the law will be brought down on them."
Meanwhile, the state of Victoria recorded 11 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday and reported to have less than 200 active cases for the first time since June.
The state has remained under a strict lockdown since August when daily cases peaked at over 700, with residents largely required to remain at home other than for work or to shop for essential items.
Plans were in place to ease restrictions further, potentially by mid-October, however these were subject to case numbers remaining low and the timely advice of health experts.
