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Fleeting exposure prompts Sydney mask move

Maureen Dettre and Angelo RissoAAP
Masks are advised for people on Sydney public transport and extra testing clinics have been set up.
Camera IconMasks are advised for people on Sydney public transport and extra testing clinics have been set up. Credit: AAP

Mask use is again compulsory on Sydney's public transport after a man picked up COVID-19 from "fleeting exposure" with an infected shopper.

A number of new exposure sites have also been announced across Bondi Junction, as well as Macquarie Park and at Sydney's international airport.

The man in his 50s caught the virus while shopping at Myer Bondi Junction on Saturday. He was on the same floor in the same section as a limousine driver believed to be at the centre of this week's outbreak.

His symptoms began on Tuesday and he visited venues in Redfern, Newtown, Bondi Junction and Campbelltown while infectious.

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NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said it appeared the limousine driver had passed on the Delta strain of the virus with just fleeting contact.

Queensland and Tasmania on Friday responded to the development by tightening border restrictions, with Queensland declaring a virus hotspot from 1am on Saturday in Sydney's Waverley council area.

Tasmania will block entry for those who attended any NSW exposure site.

"This indicates that the initial case was highly infectious as transmission must have occurred through fleeting exposure," Dr Chant told reporters.

"(This is) noting that the person who caught the infection at the cafe was seated outside and there was no known (contact) with the initial case."

As a result, mask usage is again compulsory on Sydney public transport for at least the next five days, Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced.

Ms Berejiklian urged people who've been to venues on NSW's hotspot list "that you don't go away anywhere" as the number of people forced to isolate as a result of the Bondi Junction cluster climbed to more than 100.

Casual contacts were also warned not to visit hospitals and aged care facilities, and visitors to aged care homes will need to wear masks.

"Some people for some reason aren't contagious and some are extremely contagious ... the randomness of that is what makes it scary," she said.

The new case comes after an unvaccinated limousine driver from Sydney's east and his wife were diagnosed with the coronavirus and subsequently infected a woman in her 70s at a Vaucluse cafe.

The limo driver, aged in his 60s, transported international air crews.

Another case - a man in his 40s from Sydney's northwest - also tested positive for COVID-19, but NSW Health has not yet concluded if the case is genuine.

The woman in her 70s and the man in his 40s are included as new cases in the numbers for the 24 hours until 8pm on Thursday.

The man in his 50s will be included in numbers released on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Yates Avenue Public School in northwest Sydney was closed on Friday after a number of its staff attended a COVID-19 exposure site.

NSW Health on Friday evening listed a number of new COVID-19 exposure sites including the level five food court at Westfield Bondi Junction, as well as level four and the bus interchange near the centre.

It also listed Eden Gardens at Macquarie Park and the limousine car park at Sydney International Airport as new COVID-19 exposure sites.

The northwest Sydney man travelled to Canberra on Monday and the National Gallery of Australia and a cafe have also been deemed exposure sites.

The outbreak could mean NSW reintroduces some restrictions ahead of the school holiday period, which begins on June 26.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed on Friday that quarantine-free travel will continue with NSW for the time being.

Western Australia and South Australia previously shut the border for those who attended the NSW virus exposure sites, while Victoria has tightened restrictions for residents of the City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra council areas.

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