NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys condemns Belmont party as NSW records 163 new COVID-19 cases

The number of cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Friday is the highest daily figure since the start of the current outbreak, with 45 of the cases infectious while in the community.

Related: How to book your COVID vaccine at the Belmont vaccination hub

In Saturday's health announcement, Deputy Commissioner Worboys said police were called to a Belmont home were 10 people were gathering despite the current health order limit being five.

He said there were a number of calls to police about the party, which was held both in the house and the backyard.

"So these are events where people in their neighbourhood are so concerned that they're calling the police to go around and conduct an investigation and try and set those people straight in terms of the risk that they pose to themselves and also that community," Deputy Commissioner Worboys said

"The easy part is just that, where people ring up and the police attend, they make an investigation and they issue the infringement notices.

"The hard part for everyone to get their head around is that this Delta strain is so transmissible that people will quite consciously invite people into their house, and each and every one of those people then returns to their home with the bright prospect of infecting everyone in their household.

"We've seen it happen before and this sort of behaviour is highly irresponsible and is quite conscious in terms of that people are actually planning these events and inviting people around. They know it is outside of the public health order.

"So it really is a conscious effort to drag down the millions of people every single day, no matter how hard and challenging it is, are doing the right thing."

There were 93,900 coronavirus tests in the 24 hours to 8pm Friday. NSW Health's Dr Jeremy McAnulty said 87 of the new cases have been linked to a known case or cluster, while 42 remained under investigation.

Dr McAnulty said there were 139 people with COVID-19 admitted to hospital at the moment, 37 of which are in intensive care and 17 that require ventilation.

Of the 37 in intensive care, 36 were unvaccinated and one was partially vaccinated with Astrazeneca.

Fifty-five people in hospital are aged under 55 and 28 are under 35.

"So they are not all old people," Dr McAnulty said.

He also highlighted a family coming together after a tragedy in Pendle Hill, which resulted in 18 cases.

"It's an example of how families coming together even in tragic times can actually ... be a risk where COVID can easily take hold and spread among family members and then out to their households and further afield," Dr McAnulty said.

Stronger restrictions for workers in hotspot suburbs in Sydney came into effect today after a national emergency was declared.

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