SYDNEY (BLOOMBERG) – The cluster of Covid-19 infections that’s thrust 250,000 people in Sydney’s Northern Beaches into lockdown has grown to 129 cases, authorities said Tuesday (Dec 29).

Three new cases were recorded overnight, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters, and urged people to get tested with even the mildest of symptoms.

“We are in a very critical phase,” she said.

“We do not want people to think we’re out of the woods.”

The outbreak is a blow to Australia, which had largely suppressed community transmission through rigorous testing and contact tracing, and by shuttering the international border – with all returned overseas travellers made to isolate for 14 days in quarantine hotels. Authorities are still trying to pinpoint the source of the cluster.

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