A mass COVID vaccination hub will be established for the Illawarra in Wollongong, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced today.
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The Wollongong hub will be one of three new mass vaccination centres established by NSW Health with the other two in Western Sydney and the Sydney CBD. There is already a mass vaccination centre at Olympic Park and another under construction in the Hunter.
In announcing the hubs, the NSW Premier said it was anticipated once up and running NSW Health will be able to administer 200,000 vaccinations a week.
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NSW has recorded 24 new local COVID-19 cases and Premier Gladys Berejiklian admitted the virus is "continuing to circulate" in the community, despite a 14-day lockdown.
The 24 new local cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday came from almost 60,000 tests and included a student nurse - revealed on Wednesday - who worked at Fairfield and Royal North Shore hospitals in Sydney.
Another nurse at RNS - a close friend of the student nurse - has also been diagnosed with the virus, affecting several wards.
Ms Berejiklian said 12 of the 24 reported cases were out in the community while infectious, which was concerning.
"People going about their business, shopping and interacting with others is causing the virus to continue to circulate," she said.
"In too many examples, we are seeing workers who are leaving the house with symptoms or going to work and then inadvertently as they are going about shopping or other activity, they are passing it onto others."
The Bondi cluster at the centre of Sydney's outbreak now numbers 175 and the total number of cases since the outbreak began on June 16 now stands at 195.
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Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant on Wednesday revealed an unvaccinated 24-year-old student nurse who worked at RNS and Fairfield hospitals had the virus, sending more than 100 patients and staff into isolation.
She worked for five days while potentially infectious, while one of her household contacts had also tested virus-positive.
Dr Chant on Thursday confirmed a second nurse had caught the virus and had been working in several wards at RNS, raising concerns that COVID-19 transmission may have occurred in the hospital.
Meanwhile, NSW Health has apologised to Customer Services Minister Victor Dominello for giving him incorrect advice about his exposure to a COVID-19 positive cabinet colleague and sending him back into isolation.
Mr Dominello was mistakenly told he no longer needed to quarantine after being in contact with Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall who was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week after dining at a Paddington pizzeria.
However, they backtracked late on Wednesday and determined Mr Dominello was a close contact and needed to isolate for the full 14 days.
NSW Health has also issued health alerts for numerous bus and train routes as well as more than 20 venues in Sydney's east, south and west.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance said healthcare and front line workers should avoid using public transport for the time being.
