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Australia on edge as it's revealed a Virgin crew member worked on FIVE flights while infected with Covid - as 52 more Sydney venues are exposed to the virus and eerie photos show the city turn into a ghost town on the first day of two-week lockdown

Health authorities are scrambling to contact passengers on five flights after a Virgin Australia crew member tested positive to Covid - as it's revealed over 50 more venues in Sydney have been exposed to the virus. 

The five flights on Friday and Saturday took passengers either to or from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

'The crew member is now in isolation, and Virgin Australia is rapidly contacting all team members who are close contacts,' the airline said in a late-night statement on Saturday.

'Virgin Australia is requiring those crew members to cease flying, get tested and isolate. All passengers on flights the crew member operated will be contacted by health authorities and advised on the correct protocol.'

The worrying news comes as Greater Sydney and surrounding areas were plunged into a 14-day lockdown due to the latest Covid outbreak - originating in the city's east - that is threatening to spiral out of control. 

A further 52 venues were added to the exposure list on Saturday night as the city comes to grips with its most dangerous coronavirus period to date, with 80 cases already. 

Eerie photos showed the Harbour City reduced to a ghost town just hours after the two-week lockdown was introduced.   

Eerie photos show Sydney reduced to a ghost town after the Harbour City's two-week lockdown was initiated

Eerie photos show Sydney reduced to a ghost town after the Harbour City's two-week lockdown was initiated

Sydney Harbour, usually lined with Sydneysiders and tourists on a Saturday night visiting the many bars and restaurants that line its shores, saw a turnout of only a few out exercising

Sydney Harbour, usually lined with Sydneysiders and tourists on a Saturday night visiting the many bars and restaurants that line its shores, saw a turnout of only a few out exercising

The city's new light rail system was running at extremely limited capacity, with public transport virtually non-existent throughout the city

The city's new light rail system was running at extremely limited capacity, with public transport virtually non-existent throughout the city

Virgin Australia confirmed crew worker was potentially infectious working five flights over two days on June 25 and June 26

Virgin Australia confirmed crew worker was potentially infectious working five flights over two days on June 25 and June 26

Virgin flights exposed 

25 June 2021

VA939 Sydney-Brisbane

VA334 Brisbane-Melbourne

26 June 2021

VA827 Melbourne-Sydney

VA517 Sydney-Gold Coast

VA524 Gold Coast-Sydney

The Virgin flight attendant who was infected with the virus while working on five flights through Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast has sent health authorities scrambling as they attempt to contact trace anyone onboard.

Virgin Australia confirmed the crew worker was potentially infectious working five flights over two days on June 25 and June 26. 

'Virgin Australia can confirm that a Sydney-based cabin crew member has tested positive to COVID-19 after undertaking a rapid result test this evening. State and Federal health authorities have been notified,' the airline said in a statement.

'The crew member is now in isolation, and Virgin Australia is rapidly contacting all team members who are close contacts. Virgin Australia is requiring those crew members to cease flying, get tested and isolate.'

Virgin say the woman was from a 'known cluster in Sydney' and was 'not aware' they were a close contact until their shift ended on Saturday. 

The affected crew member is a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case from a known cluster in Sydney. Virgin Australia understands the crew member was not aware they were a close contact of a positive case until after they completed their last flight today.

'The crew member also had an overnight layover in Melbourne on 25 June 2021, staying at the Holiday Inn Express Southbank. While in Melbourne, the crew member remained in hotel isolation under prescribed COVID protocols for overnighting crew members from New South Wales.'

A Virgin flight attendant also has tested positive for the virus on Saturday night after potentially being infectious on five flights through Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne

A Virgin flight attendant also has tested positive for the virus on Saturday night after potentially being infectious on five flights through Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne

Circular Quay, usually bustling with people from all around Sydney and New South Wales, was eerily quiet with the famous steps leading up to the Opera House completely bare

Circular Quay, usually bustling with people from all around Sydney and New South Wales, was eerily quiet with the famous steps leading up to the Opera House completely bare

EXPOSURE SITES ANNOUNCED EARLY SATURDAY EVENING 

Gregory Hills: Il Sapore Restaurant - Sunday June 20, 12pm to 3pm

Marrickville: Everest Nepalese Takeaway Café - Tuesday June 22, 4.30am to 8.30am, Wednesday June 23, 6.15am to 7am and Thursday June 24, 6.15am to 7am

Rhodes: Bare Witness Café - Wednesday June 23, 11am to 12.30pm

Coogee: Coogee Diggers RSL – gym on level 2 - Wednesday June 23, 3.45pm to 5:30pm

Woollahra: ​Bistro Moncur - ​Thursday June 24, 7.30pm to 10pm 

Bondi: Lyfe Cafe - all day Thursday June 24 

Auburn: Reading Cinema - Sunday June 20, 6.30pm screening of Fast & Furious 9

Earlwood: Adora Handmade Chocolates - Tuesday June 22, 32.20ppm to 3.45pm 

Potts Point: Café de la Fontaine - Sunday June 20, 10.30am – 12.00pm

Annandale:  Revolver Café - Sunday June 20, 10.45am and 12.10pm

Coogee: Churrasco - Sunday June 20, 5.30 pm to 6.40pm

Gregory Hills: Woolworths - Sunday June 20, 3pm to 3:30pm

Double Bay: Matteo Restaurant and Bar - Sunday June 20, 6.30pm to 8.00pm

Hurstville: H One Hair Salon - Tuesday June 22, 5.30pm to 6.30pm

Bondi Beach: Speedo Fitness Club – pool area only - Tuesday June 22, 4.45pm to 6.15pm

North Ryde: Macquarie Shopping Centre food court (Level 2) - Wednesday June 23, 2pm to 2.30pm

Casula: Crossroads Hotel - Wednesday June 23, 7pm to 10.30pm

Burwood: Yang's Dumplings - Thursday June 24, 11am to 11.30am 

Stay-at-home orders will apply to all of Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Wollongong areas from 6pm on Saturday and will be in place until midnight on Friday July 9. 

Town Hall train station is among 26 new Covid hotspots identified across Sydney in a late night alert from NSW Health, including upmarket restaurants and take-aways, just hours after more than 6million people went into two-week lockdown.

Eight of the locations - including the upmarket Bistro Moncur in Woollahra, a favourite among the eastern suburbs social set and wealthy locals - are considered close contact sites. 

The list includes a Sunday evening screening of box office smash Fast & Furious 9 at an Auburn cinema.

The gym at Coogee Diggers RSL is also on the latest exposure list, with a near-two hour window for close contacts. 

Anyone there at the times listed must get tested and go into isolation for two weeks regardless of the result.

The new sites make it 52 new exposure sites for Sydney on Saturday alone, with the situation threatening to get out of control as the city locks down. 

The growing number of venues also includes another Woolworths and the same pub that was at the centre of a previous outbreak.  

The alert for Great Ocean Foods in Marrickville has now been extended to take in all day every day from Monday June 21 until Friday June 25.

The Crossroads Hotel in Casula has again been named a high-risk exposure site and anyone who attended the pub on Wednesday June 23 from 7pm to 10:30pm must immediately be tested and self-isolate for 14 days. 

In July last year a Melbourne freight worker visited the pub for a party, which resulted in at least 34 cases. He claimed he didn't know he was sick.

Churrasco restaurant in Coogee, Speedo Fitness Club in Bondi Beach and hair salon in Hurstville were also included in Saturday evening's latest exposure drop.  

Stay-at-home orders will apply to all of Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Wollongong areas from 6pm on Saturday and will be in place until midnight on Friday July 9.

Locals are only allowed to leave their houses for four reasons, which include for school or work if unable to do so from home, medical reasons including to get the vaccine and to give care, for essential shopping and to exercise outside in groups of no more than ten.

'There is no curfew. You can leave your home at any stage to purchase any essential goods that you need to and that is a given. Be thoughtful and considerate about fellow citizens and no need to panic buy,' Ms Berejiklian said on Saturday during a media briefing. 

'I said that this the scariest time since the pandemic started and that's proven to be the case.'

Regional NSW will follow restrictions that were previously placed on Sydney which include having only five visitors at a house, wearing masks indoors, hospitality venues reduced to one person per square metre and outdoor venues reduced to 50 per cent capacity.

'So for those parts of New South Wales that aren't in lockdown, restrictions still apply because we want to make sure that if there have been any occasions where people unknowingly have taken the virus outside into the regions, that we don't have any spread in those regions,' Ms Berejiklian said. 

Weddings will be able to go ahead over the weekend but will be banned from Monday.

Funerals can continue with a maximum of 100 guests and masks indoors while community sport will also be shut down over the next fortnight.

Shops will remain open and financial assistance will be available. 

Casual contact sites added overnight Saturday 

Anyone who attended any of the following venues at the listed times is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received. 

Mascot: Meriton Suites Hotel - all day Saturday June 19 and all day Monday June 21

Randwick: Bake Bar - Monday June 21, 10.40am to 11am

Moorebank: Cedary Bakehouse - Monday June 21 11am to 3pm

Bondi: The Char Rotisserie - Monday June 21, 5.10pm to 5.25pm

Bondi: Raw Bar - Monday June 21, 1:30pm to 1:40pm

Bondi: RicePot Thai - Monday June 21, 3:25pm to 3:35pm on

Bondi: I Love Pizza - Monday June 21, 3:40pm to 3:50pm

Bondi Beach: La Piadina Bondi - Monday June 21, 2:10pm to 2:20pm and 4:40pm to 4:50pm

Bondi Beach: Oakberry Acai - Monday 21 June 2021 3:15pm to 3:25pm

Bondi Beach: Macelleria Bondi -Monday June 21 1:45pm to 1:55pm

Bondi Beach: Banana Blossom - Monday June 21. 1:00pm to 1:15pm

Rose Bay: Poké Mix - Monday June 21, 4:15pm to 4:25pm

Rose Bay: Pita Mix - Monday June 21, 1:55pm to 2:10pm

Vaucluse: Sushi Dining Den - Monday June 21, 2:45pm to 2:55pm

Sydney: Station entry level and ground floor, Corner of Park Street and George Street Station entry level and ground floor - Wednesday June 23, 3:45pm - 4:15pm and Thursday June 24, 3:45pm – 4:15pm

Carnes Hill: Woolworths - Wednesday June 23, 1.30pm to 1.55pm and 2.30pm to 2.35pm

Carnes Hill: Commonwealth Bank - Wednesday June 23, 2pm to 2.12pm

Carnes Hill: CTC Tobacconist - Wednesday June 23 2.12pm to 2.15pm

Bondi Junction: Five Star Hot Food - Tuesday June 22, 1.40pm to 1.55pm

Bondi Beach Speedo Fitness Club – fitness centre or classes - Tuesday June 22, 4.45pm to 6.15pm 

Denham Court: Coles - Wednesday June 23, 9.50am to 10.20am

Randwick: Bunnings Randwick cnr Clovelly Road and Kemmis Street Wednesday 23 June 9am to 9.30am

Chullora: Woolworths Chullora Marketplace Chullora Marketplace, 355 Waterloo Rd Thursday 24 June 7.30am to 8.00am

Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed must monitor for symptoms and immediately get tested and self-isolate if they develop:

Bondi Beach: Bondi Pharmacy, 81 Hall Street - Friday June 18, 1:35pm to 2:45PM  

Residents in the Greater Sydney region will endure two weeks of lockdown from Saturday night (pictured Sydney CBD on Saturday)

Residents in the Greater Sydney region will endure two weeks of lockdown from Saturday night (pictured Sydney CBD on Saturday) 

Sydney residents were undaunted by the new stay-at-home-orders, soaking up the sun on an unusually warm late-June day on Saturday. Pictured: Woman on Coogee Beach on Saturday

Sydney residents were undaunted by the new stay-at-home-orders, soaking up the sun on an unusually warm late-June day on Saturday. Pictured: Woman on Coogee Beach on Saturday 

The Crossroads Hotel in Casula has again been named a high-risk exposure site and anyone who attended the pub on Wednesday June 23 from 7pm to 10:30pm must immediately be tested and self-isolate for 14 days

The Crossroads Hotel in Casula has again been named a high-risk exposure site and anyone who attended the pub on Wednesday June 23 from 7pm to 10:30pm must immediately be tested and self-isolate for 14 days

The Churrasco restaurant in Coogee has been listed as a high-exposure site by NSW Health

The Churrasco restaurant in Coogee has been listed as a high-exposure site by NSW Health

Pictures taken on Saturday showed the New South Wales capital's landmarks, including the Opera House, CBD and Bondi Beach, completely deserted with stay-at-home-orders now in place for the entire Greater Sydney region. 

The images cast a stark contrast to the scenes of Friday night, where residents from the four local governments initially put into lockdown attempted to celebrate their final hours.

Images of revellers flocking to bars and restaurants in Bondi, Coogee, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst and the CBD showed Sydneysiders undaunted by the growing coronavirus outbreak in their city.

One man was seen stumbling out of a pub on the beach in Bondi, losing his balance as he friends laughed in the background.

Saturday night saw Australia's most populated city reduced to something post-apocalyptic, with empty streets, car-less roads and patron-less bars.

Circular Quay, usually bustling with people from all around Sydney and New South Wales, was eerily quiet with the famous steps leading up to the Opera House completely bare.

The city's new light rail system was running at extremely limited capacity, with public transport virtually non-existent.    

The images cast a stark contrast to the scenes of Friday night, where residents from the four local governments initially put into lockdown attempted to celebrate their final hoursOne man was seen stumbling out of a pub on the beach in Bondi on Friday night, losing his balance as he friends laughed in the background

The images cast a stark contrast to the scenes of Friday night, where residents from the four local governments initially put into lockdown attempted to celebrate their final hours

The images cast a stark contrast to the scenes of Friday night, where residents from the four local governments initially put into lockdown attempted to celebrate their final hours

The images cast a stark contrast to the scenes of Friday night, where residents from the four local governments initially put into lockdown attempted to celebrate their final hours

NZ bursts trans-Tasman travel bubble 

New Zealand is fully closing the trans-Tasman travel bubble with Australia for at least three days following the worsening COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney and other areas of Australia.

It says quarantine free travel from all Australian states and territories will be paused until 11.59pm on Tuesday, June 29.

NZ COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says the decision will be reviewed on Monday.

He said New Zealand would consider implementing of a range of measures to make the bubble safer, such as pre-departure testing for all flights from Australia.

'I acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience that comes with this pause, but given the high level of transmissibility of what appears to be the Delta variant, and the fact that there are now multiple community clusters, it is the right thing to do to keep COVID-19 out of New Zealand,' Mr Hipkins said in a statement on Saturday night

More than five million people in Sydney and its surrounds have gone into a 14-day lockdown as health authorities try to regain control of a coronavirus outbreak that has ballooned to 80 cases.

NZ officials had already closed the trans-Tasman bubble to NSW until July 7 at the earliest.

Since opening in mid-April, the bubble has been partially closed for more than half the time, but this is the first full closure.

On Friday, NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern postponed a visit to Australia next month due to the worsening COVID environment.

Ms Ardern was to visit a number of states - including NSW - in the first week of July on a trade and tourism effort.

She has not left New Zealand since the onset of COVID-19.

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