NSW has recorded 16 new locally acquired Covid-19 infections in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday.
Medical officers walk past a sign board of Covid-19 testing center on Bondi Beach in Sydney on May 6, 2021. Photo: AFP / Saeed Khan
Of those, 13 were in isolation while infectious.
More than 45,000 tests were completed in the reporting period.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the next few days were "absolutely critical".
"Whilst the numbers overnight are very encouraging compared to the previous day, we know that they still have a potential to bounce around, and we still know that the next few days are absolutely critical," Berejiklian said.
She stressed people should only leave the house for exercise or "when you absolutely have to".
"Please don't go visiting each other because that's how the virus spreads."
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said 14 of the cases were linked to previously confirmed cases, with five of them household contacts.
Dr Chant stressed the lower numbers could only be sustained if people observed the rules.
A Sydney elderly care home, Summit Care, today confirmed three residents at its Baulkham Hills facility had contracted the virus.
The three people are aged in their 80s and 90s.
While all had been given Covid-19 vaccine doses, the same cannot be said for the staff at the centre, where single rooms can cost up to $A1.5 million, plus extra daily payments.
Two workers tested positive for Covid-19 during the week, sending the facility, which is home to 149 residents, into lockdown.
Two of the three residents who tested positive were last night taken to Westmead Hospital as a precaution.
Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour have been in lockdown for just over a week, due to the outbreak in NSW.
Social distancing restrictions have also been imposed on all other areas in the state.
The Bondi cluster, which stands at 206 cases, has been NSW's largest of the pandemic.
Queensland and Victoria update
Queensland has recorded one new case of Covid-19 emerging from community transmission, as Brisbane and Moreton Bay residents enjoy their first full day of freedom after the lockdown was lifted last night.
Restrictions, including compulsory mask-wearing, will remain in place in several local government areas across Queensland until 16 July.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the case of a man in 50s from Carindale who works as a baggage handler at the Brisbane Domestic Airport, from yesterday's Covid-19 update, was a false positive.
Dr Young said genomic sequencing had confirmed a woman in her 50s from Everton Park who works at the Prince Charles Hospital, included in yesterday's Covid-19 case tally, has the Alpha variant.
She said the woman is linked to the Greek Club and Portuguese Family Centre cluster.
Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 for the fourth consecutive day.
It has been nearly two weeks since a positive case has been recorded in someone who was not in quarantine during their infectious period.
Tightened restrictions remain in place across the state, including caps on gatherings, masks indoors and density limits in place across business and community facilities.
The current settings are expected to remain in place until at least 11.59pm (AEST) this Thursday, 8 July.
-ABC
