The culturally-diverse suburbs in Sydney's south-west have become ground zero in the city's fight against Covid, as new data reveals the frightening rate the disease is taking a grip there.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has voiced fears Covid is being spread by large families 'ignoring the rules' while numbers spike.
In just a few days, south-western suburbs including Cabramatta, Edensor Park and Canley Vale have already become the number one infection hotspots in the city.
NSW Health has detected 105 cases in the Fairfield local government area in this latest cluster since it broke out of Sydney's eastern suburbs and moved into the west.
Of the 77 cases announced in Sydney on Sunday, 52 were in south-west Sydney, 11 were in central Sydney and 10 were in south-east Sydney.
The culturally-diverse suburbs in Sydney's south-west have become ground zero in the city's fight against Covid, as new data reveals the frightening rate the disease is taking a grip there
That figure compares to the four-week combined total of just 69 cases from the suburbs around Bondi since this outbreak began there on June 16.
The white knuckle expansion rate in Sydney's south-west prompted renewed pleas from Ms Berejiklian for families there to heed the lockdown rules.
But health experts fear the disease is ripping through the community there because the largely ethnically-diverse profile of the area creates unique challenges.
English is not the first language in 71 per cent of homes in Fairfield, and 50 per cent of the area's 290,000 population were born overseas, according to council figures.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) has voiced fears Covid is being spread by large families 'ignoring the rules' while numbers spike.
Ms Berejiklian - whose parents emigrated to Australia from Armenia - fears extended family gatherings are accelerating the spread of the disease in the south-west.
And she fears fluid family set-ups - where households regularly mix - will cause the current lockdown to be extended beyond its planned end on Friday.
'Can I say to the communities in those areas, many have a similar background to me, please don't mingle with family,' she said.
'I haven't seen my parents since the lockdown started – it is hard.
'Can I say to everybody don't mingle with family, don't think it is okay to visit your cousins or have sleepovers. Please do not leave the house.'
The premier's calls were renewed on Sunday by NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant.
'Please stay at home and that means staying within the one household,' she stressed. 'Do not leave that household setting and do not interact with other family members.
'And I know that that can be a difficult concept, given the closeness of family units, but at this point in time in responding to Covid, we need to keep the households as a discrete unit so we don't get that risk of further spread.'
Victoria's chief medical officer Paul Kelly also
