SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales (NSW) on Tuesday reported its lowest rise in new COVID-19 cases in five days, fuelling optimism that the spread of the virus from a fresh outbreak in Sydney has eased.
NSW reported eight new local COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours compared with 15 a day earlier.
A coronavirus cluster, detected in Sydney’s northern beaches areas last week, has now grown to 90 cases as authorities battled to contain the flare-up in Australia’s largest city just days before Christmas.
Authorities have placed the affected suburbs in lockdown until Wednesday. They will announce then if restrictions will be relaxed or tightened.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Tom Hogue)
