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NSW Health said there were no known cases of COVID-19 in that area,“which is of great concern” as it suggests the virus could be circulating unchecked.

Public health experts say as more people become fully vaccinated there will be alternatives to blunt and harsh restrictions,with those inoculated able to move more freely about the community and be partly exempt from lockdowns.

Pandemic planning and global health security expert Associate Professor Adam Kamradt Scott said NSW should be experimenting with other options “rather than simply just locking down whole cities”.

“The NSW government doesn’t really have a whole lot of choice right now because we need to suppress the virus in the community ... but in the coming months they could look to models in other countries including using COVID-19 passports,allowing children of fully vaccinated parents to return to school,using rapid antigen testing and allowing those fully inoculated to have a normal life,” he said. Any new measures,however,would not replace the need to wear masks,socially distance and undergo regular testing,he said.

The jump in numbers prompted Ms Berejiklian to warn the transmissibility of the virus is “unlike anything seen before”,with more than half of people who have contracted this strain under the age of 55.

Ms Berejiklian said people should seek advice from their doctor if they’re under 40 in relation to AstraZeneca.

“If you’re under 40 and want AstraZeneca,please,please check with your GP. If your GP gives you the green light,please get the vaccine. Please,please,come forward and get vaccinated,” she said.

Anyone aged over 40 is eligible to get an AstraZeneca vaccine via a NSW Health vaccination hub or an approved pharmacist. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) continues to recommend Pfizer as the preferred vaccine for people under 60. But in advice updated earlier this month it said people under 60 living in an area with an outbreak,and who cannot secure a Pfizer jab,are encouraged to “reassess the benefits to them and their contacts from being vaccinated with AstraZeneca,versus the rare risk of a serious side effect.”

Ms Berejiklian stressed it was “critical for us to have as much of our population vaccinated” quickly. “We know the vaccine prevents serious illness. There is currently nobody in intensive care who has had both doses of vaccine at any age,” she said. Only 11 per cent of the state’s total population has been fully vaccinated.

Mystery cases have now topped 360,with three unlinked cases in Wollongong,and contact tracers racing to catch up as exposure sites reach into the hundreds. There are 14 million people across Australia in lockdown.

Only about 58 per cent of people in NSW aged over 50 have had one dose of a vaccine and about 75 per cent of the population above 70. About one in 10 people aged 16 to 49 have been fully vaccinated in the state.

Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid said if harsher lockdown measures are unable to dramatically reduce the number of infectious cases in the community,national vaccine stockpiles should be redirected to Sydney and hotspots.

“If you can’t eliminate the virus or get it to very low levels then the AstraZeneca becomes a very good decision for people under 60. It may be that the Delta variant is more difficult to get under control only using lockdowns,” he said.

Infectious diseases expert Peter Collignon from the Canberra Hospital said the older you are the more benefit vaccination provides.

“When you have COVID-19 transmission,anyone over the age of 50 should seriously consider getting AstraZeneca. The risk of death from complications is about one in a million but risk of dying in COVID-19 is much higher,” he said.

There were 85,815 tests reported to 8pm on Wednesday,a record number in NSW at any point in the pandemic.

Mr Hazzard urged eligible people to book vaccination appointments and said mixed messaging had discouraged people from coming forward.

“Right now we are in the middle of a very serious outbreak in NSW. And we can’t afford the luxury of sitting back and saying,‘I don’t want to have a vaccine that has been taken by almost every country in the world and kept others safe’,” Mr Hazzard said.

There are 118 people in hospital,with 28 in intensive care,half of whom are ventilated. Of those admitted to hospital,15 people are under the age of 35.

Cases have now spilled over from the Fairfield local government area and into Canterbury-Bankstown and the Cumberland local government areas,with workplaces and households the main places of transmission. Health authorities say the results of harsher restrictions will not be known until early next week.

The virus has spread to staff at aged care facilities,with one unvaccinated staff member at The Palms in Kirrawee in southern Sydney reported on Wednesday night,and two staff members at an aged care facility in Belrose. Another five people at Unisson Disability Parklea group home have tested positive.

Health and aged-care workers who live in the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area will be required to undergo a COVID-19 test every three days to be allowed to leave the area for work. The rules will extend to the Liverpool local government area from Friday.

On Thursday night,more venues across Sydney were added toNSW Health’s exposure site list including Woolworths in Glenrose Village in Belrose,Chemist Warehouse in Parramatta,and Big W in Bonnyrigg.

with Liam Mannix

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