Covid: Sydney to keep restrictions for Christmas amid outbreak

Most Sydney households will continue to be able to receive 10 visitors over Christmas

Authorities in Sydney have extended Covid restrictions on social gatherings across Christmas in a bid to curb an outbreak in Australia's largest city.

Most Sydneysiders will continue to be able to have 10 adult visitors to their home over the holiday period.

But in a slight relaxation of rules, young children can be included on top of that number between 24-26 December.

Sydney saw just eight new cases on Wednesday, fuelling optimism about efforts to contain the outbreak.

The New South Wales (NSW) state government said a total of 98 cases had been found in the state capital since last week.

More than 124,000 residents had been tested in the past three days alone - a local record.

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There have been almost no locally transmitted cases reported elsewhere in Australia in recent days.

The outbreak was discovered last week in the city's Northern Beaches region, prompting an immediate lockdown of residents.

However, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said officials were still unable to trace how the virus got into the community so a lockdown will continue until Sunday.

"We want to make sure that there aren't strains or lines of community transmission that we haven't found yet," she said on Wednesday.

She revealed that the southern half of that community would be allowed to host 10 visitors for Christmas. In the northern half - where the outbreak began - only five visitors would be permitted.

But residents in both zones were still barred from leaving their local area, she added.

Locals in Manly (in the southern section of the Northern Beaches district) on Wednesday

Sydney residents have been told they should not visit nursing homes over Christmas and mask-wearing in public has been encouraged.

They also remain banned from travelling to other states and territories, preventing holiday plans for many families, after restrictions imposed earlier this week.

Queensland, the neighbouring state to the north of NSW, said it had turned away more than 120 people who had tried to cross the border since Tuesday.

Ms Berejiklian has criticised neighbouring states for what she has described as a "disproportionate" response to a localised outbreak in the state capital.

Other areas of NSW - such as regional cities - remain unaffected but some states, such as Western Australia, have banned all NSW residents.

"In NSW, not only are we cautious with our approach, but I think we assess the risk well and then make decisions according to that, unlike some of my other state colleagues who have taken what I think are overreaching actions," Ms Berejiklian said.

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Australia has become known for its swift and aggressive response to outbreaks this year. State governments have acted quickly to lock down hotspot areas and conduct rapid contact-tracing and testing.

The country has so far has recorded 908 deaths and 28,227 cases overall - a level far lower than seen in many other nations.

It took early decisions to close the nation's borders and mandate hotel quarantine for returning travellers from overseas.

Breaches in the hotel quarantine system remain the main source by which the virus has entered the community - as seen in previous outbreaks in Melbourne and Adelaide.

It's also believed to be the source of this latest Sydney outbreak, although officials stressed again on Wednesday they were unsure how it had entered the community.

The majority of people returning to Australia fly to Sydney, meaning the city has hosted the most travellers in hotel quarantine.