At a media briefing, the NSW Premier Ms Gladys Berejiklian sent a message directed to people in Sydney's west and southwest to get tested, after revealing the "virus is circulating amongst the community".
The premier shared that there were “several things that keep me awake” in regards to NSW’s COVID-19 fight.
She added:
“But the one thing that worries me is for six weeks we have been doing really well but every week we are getting a couple of cases with no clear identifiable source and that worries us,” she said.
“What that tells us is in south-western and Western Sydney the virus is circulating amongst the community and my strongest message is if you live in south- western or Western Sydney and you have the slightest symptom or you have been exposed as a close contact to one of those venues that have been announced please come forward and get tested and stay home for two weeks.”
NSW has recorded nine new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours.
In the meantime, Victoria recorded 371 new cases and 14 deaths; one of the deaths is a 20 year old man. The Premier Mr Dan Andrews expressed Victoria's appreciation of the work the healthcare workers:
"....You are doing an amazing work under very difficult circumstances. We are with you. We thank you so deeply; we appreciate your courage, care and compassion. I just want to thank the staff who took time out of their down time or their precious time they gave me last night to give an insight, a pretty much on the ground insight into how the virus is presenting, and about the challenges they are faced and there are issues that need to be followed up. In the main, PPE is working; there was a real sense of unity that PPE provision is working well but we must strive to do better. "
The Premier also thanked the Victorians for their response to the call to be tested.
In today's media briefing, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Australia needs to have a "reality check" about what living through a pandemic means for the country.
Speaking during a press conference on Friday, Mr Morrison said there were millions of Australians every day doing their best to get through the challenges presented by COVID-19.
"Each and every day, they are all just doing their best to ensure that Australians are not let down during this period," he said.
"And the sad truth is, some days, we fall short. And other days, we don't. On some days, the pandemic gets the better of us, and on other days, it doesn't. And I think we've got to have a reality check about this.
"There are no absolute guarantees in a global pandemic. There are no absolute assurances that can be provided."