Why the chief of disaster wants the term social distancing abolished on the day Sydney records a staggering 681 Covid cases
Mr Fitzsimmons was lead NSW through the 2019-20 summer bushfires and is now chief of Resilience NSW
Shane Fitzsimmons, one of the heroes of Australia's 2019-20 summer bushfires, wants the term 'social distancing' to be replaced as NSW records 681 Covid cases.
Mr Fitzsimmons - who took on the post as chief of Resilience NSW after his role as Commissioner of the NSW Rural Fire Service - said he wants people to be more 'socially connected' while physical distancing.
'More than ever we need to be reaching out, checking in on one another, making sure that we are looking after our own welfare and those of loved ones and families. But we do it virtually,' Mr Fitzsimmons said at Thursday's state update.
'We need to maintain a physical distance. We need to stay at home. We need to follow the rules, but ... those text messages and phone calls and video chats, they are so important. We need to lift our spirits and focus on the fact that we will get through this'.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian added she was pleased that 53 per cent of the population have had at least one dose of a vaccination and 28 per cent are now fully vaccinated.
The state recorded another 681 Covid cases on Thursday, as a leading epidemiologist warned daily COVID-19 case numbers could spiral to more than 2200.
Professor James McCaw - who specialises in infectious disease dynamics - says daily infection numbers could skyrocket in the next month.
'Our models show the possibility of increases and decreases, but I think it's more likely to be well over 1000 and up to 2000 within a month or so,' he told Nine newspapers on Thursday.
The thousands of unlinked cases mean the situation was likely to deteriorate, he said.
Mr Fitzsimmons said the term 'social distancing' should be replaced (pictured with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Thursday's NSW Covid press conference)
NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns said no one wanted a stricter lockdown 'but the alternative is too grim to bear at this point'.
'We can't face a prospect of 2000 daily cases. It would be too much of a stretch on our health system,' he told the ABC on Thursday.
Meanwhile, elective surgeries at nearly 30 private hospitals have been suspended so staff can be redeployed to plug gaps in the public system and administer vaccines.
The state also recorded a record number of vaccinations in a single day.
Some 109,550 NSW residents received a jab on Tuesday, taking the vaccine coverage for people over 16 to 54 per cent (with at least one dose).
Vaccine hubs are popping up across western and southwest Sydney, as authorities try to get 530,000 Pfizer doses into the arms of under-40s in those areas in under three weeks.
Meanwhile, the virus has continued its spread in regional NSW.
The Dharriwaa Elders Group in Walgett - which Ms Berejiklian has said is 'of enormous concern' - is calling for more data on rates of vaccination of Indigenous people.