New South Wales has recorded seven new cases of coronavirus overnight from almost 24,000 tests, with a pub on the Northern Beaches now an increasingly crucial venue.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said six of the new cases were linked to the Avalon cluster, which now numbers 122.
The seventh case is under investigation, as NSW Health authorities urged more testing in Sydney so that guidelines for how the city can celebrate New Year's Eve can be developed.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has urged anyone who visited the Belrose Hotel, near Frenchs Forest, during December to get tested, as her team tries to establish when the virus could have first circulated in the venue.
She said her team had found a man who worked at the hotel could have been infectious since early this month.
The young worker, in his 20s, may have infected a fireman, who was part of the new clutch of positive cases identified overnight, prompting the closure of three stations for deep cleaning.
The bottle shop linked to the pub was visited by at least three infected people, adding complexity to the mission facing NSW Health's contract tracers, Dr Chant said.
Dr Chant also confirmed a passenger on a Sydney to Griffith flight on December 21 has tested positive.
"There were 28 passengers and one flight attendant who flew on the flight which left Sydney at 2:10pm and arrived at 4:20 in Griffith," Dr Chant said.
She said so far 19 had tested negative.
Ms Berejiklian said a strain from the US appeared to be circulating in the Northern Beaches, not the virulent UK mutation.
"Our experts ...are watching very closely information around the UK strain and also other parts of the world that are detecting a mutation," she said.
Dr Chant confirmed the mutations reported in the UK strain were not present in the Avalon cluster strain.
Ms Berejiklian said she will likely know the plan for Sydney's New Years Eve celebration by tomorrow.
"I just ask everybody for your patience," Ms Berejiklian said, referencing tight new guidelines on singing and dancing in pubs and bars.
"Those activities are obviously not allowed and we ask everybody to please respect that."
Sydney is waiting on guidelines from the premier about the New Year's Eve fireworks display.
"We will be evaluating what New Year's Eve looks like and I hope to be able to say something tomorrow or the day after," Ms Berejiklian said.
"The more testing we have overnight the more (information we have to) make those decisions."
The harbour New Year's Eve Fireworks are only for key workers, with passes needed to enter the city, but venues have been allowed to sell tickets for events.
Thousands in Sydney's Northern Beaches area are back in lockdown today after a Christmas reprieve.
NSW recorded nine new cases of locally-acquired COVID-19 on Boxing Day, from almost 40,000 tests.
Eight of yesterday's positives were linked to Sydney's Avalon cluster.
A NSW firefighter based at Crows Nest on the city's north shore is among the new cases.
He had been at the Belrose hotel, on the Northern Beaches, officials say.
More to come.
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