COVID-19 Australia: How coronavirus has already spread in Sydney with infected ...

The latest coronavirus outbreak is crackling across Sydney like wildfire with hotspots now identified in 44 suburbs, and confirmed cases in 26 of them, NSW Health data has revealed.

The outbreak is believed to have begun around June 12 when a Bondi limo driver ferrying flight crew from Sydney Airport to nearby hotels was infected.

He wasn't being tested on his days off and spread the disease around Sydney's Eastern Suburbs until he returned to work on June 15 and finally tested positive.

By then though the highly contagious Indian Delta variant of Covid had been unleashed in the city.

Now less than two weeks later, Sydney has seen a raft of new restrictions and is sealed off from the rest of the country as authorities fight to contain Covid's spread.

Contact tracers faced an initial uphill battle to catch up with the spread of the disease which had been given a head start by the delay in the first positive result.

Scroll down for full list of infected suburbs 

Since then though, the list of possible close and casual contacts has grown, with some infected by apparently the most fleeting of encounters with Covid carriers.

At the heart of the current outbreak is Bondi Junction which has seen 33 alerts for possible contamination hotspots this month. 

The popular shopping centre and public transport hub has been central to the disease spreading to the rest of the city.

It's also seen the most cases of the disease in the latest outbreak with eight positive tests coming from the 2022 postcode it shares with nearby Queens Park.

Neighbouring Woollahra (2025) has had two cases but no hotspots, while Paddington, Moore Park and Centennial Park (2021) has had one confirmed case and one alert site.