Australia's New South Wales reports 2021 record daily rise in Covid-19 cases

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, reported on Saturday its biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases of Covid-19 so far this year, as total infections in the latest outbreak approached 500.

There were 50 new cases of community transmission, compared with 44 a day earlier, the previous 2021 record high. Of Saturday's cases, 26 spent time in the community while they were infectious, state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told a televised briefing.

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"When you know that there are 26 cases infectious in the community, the only conclusion we can draw is that things are going to get worse before they get better," Berejiklian said.

There are currently 47 cases in hospital, 19 of them under the age of 55. Sixteen people are in intensive care.