New South Wales has recorded 136 new Covid-19 cases with the outbreak now considered to be a 'national emergency'. Premier Gladys Berejiklian admitted on Friday the outbreak was worsening in southwest and western Sydney suburbs. 'There is no doubt that the numbers are not going in the direction we were hoping they would at this stage,' she said. The NSW Government is reportedly in talks about tightening restrictions in Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas - where the majority of infections have been recorded. 'We need people in south-west Sydney to stop moving around,' NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said on Friday. 'We need people to understand it's a dangerous virus.' New South Wales recorded the new cases as harsher restrictions loom for parts of the state Sydney resident exercises at Centennial Park as the city remains plunged in lockdown Discussions about how restrictions may be changed to further lock down the south-west and ease pressure on areas with few cases will begin next week Sources say more police patrols or the further tightening of travel rules could be on the table. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday that the number of new infections over the weekend will determine how restrictions in the city and surrounding regions will change after July 30, when they're currently set to end. Discussions about how restrictions may be changed to further lock down the south-west and ease pressure on areas with few cases will begin next week, The Australian reported. Areas flagged for eased restrictions in the overhaul include the Northern Beaches, Shellharbour and the Central Coast, which have both seen too few case numbers to warrant stay-home orders. Shellharbour especially has not had a single case since June, but residents still face the same stay-home orders as those living in the heart of Sydney. Kiama MP Gareth Ward urged Mr Hazzard on Thursday to rethink restrictions for the south coast. 'It is totally unreasonable to keep the people of the Shellharbour LGA in lockdown. If circumstances change, restrictions could be reconsidered,' Mr Ward wrote. The NSW Government is also reportedly in talks about tightening restrictions in Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas - where the majority of infections have been recorded Parts of Sydney could be lifted out of lockdown sooner as the majority of cases are recorded in the south-west suburbs (pictured, swimmer at Bondi) Restrictions are likely to be eased in areas less impacted by the current Covid-19 outbreak in New South Wales Sources say more police patrols or the further tightening of travel rules could be on the table (pictured, two women walking down Haldon Street in Lakemba, in Sydney's south-west) CASE NUMBERS IN THE SOUTH-WEST: Almost half the new figures from Thursday were recorded in south-west Sydney, specifically: Cumberland LGA: 23 cases Canterbury-Bankstown: 21 Blacktown: 12 Liverpool: 11 Advertisement But health officials are said to be deeply concerned that the daily infection rates aren't going down in the south-west of the city, and that the number of infected people out in the community is steadily on the rise. As it stands, five million residents of Greater Sydney are not allowed to leave their homes except to shop for groceries, go to work, meet up with one other person outside, see the GP or care for someone. Residents have already endured almost four weeks of what was supposed to be a one week lockdown, but the city has continued to record high case numbers every day. Despite rules dictating outdoor exercise can be done with one other person, far larger crowds have been seen hanging out in Sydney's east - where the outbreak first began on June 16 with an infected airport driver from Bondi. While those in the city's eastern suburbs were seen out enjoying the beach on a sun-drenched Thursday, the situation in the south-west is dire. Residents of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool are already banned from leaving their LGAs entirely unless they are authorised workers. Areas pegged for eased restrictions in the overhaul include the Northern Beaches, Shellharbour and the Central Coast, which have both seen too few case numbers to warrant stay-home orders (pictured, women in Bondi on the Eastern Beaches enjoy a sunny Thursday walk) Eastern suburbs locals walking with coffees and chatting with friends (pictured on Thursday), while the city's south-western suburbs face harsher restrictions FIND THE LATEST EXPOSURE SITES NEAR YOU Even then, they have to present a negative Covid test every three days, which has seen hour-long queues at testing centres. The south-west has already been subject to tougher restrictions than the rest of the city due to a disproportionate number of cases recorded in those areas. But it could face an even tighter lockdown after this weekend with allegations some people have been untruthful about their movements when speaking with contact tracers - stymieing the effort to release accurate exposure sites, resulting in high case numbers. Others have allegedly been working for cash or hiding information from authorities, sources claimed. At a press conference on Thursday, NSW Executive Director Health Protection Dr Jeremy McAnulty called for higher levels of testing in south-west and western Sydney. People flocking to Bronte Beach on Thursday morning to soak up the sun for their daily exercise (pictured) Three women wearing face masks stop in the street in Lakemba on Thursday (pictured) with the south-western regions suffering a spike in cases Areas singled out for a testing drive were Toongabbie, Mount Druitt, Rooty Hill, Fairfield, Liverpool and Bankstown as well as in high-risk areas across the city's south, including Narwee and the Georges River and Bayside LGAs. Fairfield continues to record the highest number of cases of any local government area - with health officials finding 30 Covid-19 infections in the region in the last day alone. Dr McAnulty said of the new cases, 23 were found in the Cumberland LGA, 21 in Canterbury-Bankstown, 12 in Blacktown and 11 in Liverpool. Meanwhile, people at Bronte Beach in the city's east swarmed to the beach to soak up the sun, in stark contrast to the sparse and masked-up shoppers in the south-west epicentre. Rugged up in coats and hoodies, beach dwellers could be seen standing together and chatting while holding takeaway coffees. Meanwhile, people at Bronte Beach in the city's east swarmed to the beach to soak up the sun, in stark contrast to the sparse and masked-up shoppers in the south-west epicentre (pictured, resident exercising at Bondi) In her daily press conference, Ms Berejiklian warned residents to 'assume anybody you're in contact with has the virus'. She said many Covid-positive Sydneysiders were visiting chemists, buying groceries and performing essential work. The 124 cases were detected from 85,185 tests to 8pm on Wednesday night, the most conducted in a single 24-hour period in the state during the entire pandemic. The spike in cases is the highest during Sydney's latest outbreak; the last time there were this many infections found in NSW in one day was during the first wave in April 2020. 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