One of the new cases is a man in his 40s, who travelled on two domestic flights on February 28 while symptomatic but before he had been identified as a close contact of another COVID-19 patient. He flew on the 6.45am QF1509 from Sydney to Canberra, and returned from Canberra to Sydney on flight VA651 at 2.35pm. NSW Health is asking anyone who was seated in rows 2-6 on the first flight or rows 3-7 on the second flight to self isolate and call their local public health unit for advice on 1300 066 055. Anyone not seated in rows directly adjacent to the confirmed cases were not considered a close contact, but those passengers should monitor themselves for symptoms. A man and a woman both aged in their 40s have been diagnosed with the disease after being placed in quarantine because they had family members who were sick with COVID-19.

On Thursday evening it was confirmed a 16-year-old student from Epping Boys High School had the disease, and the school was closed on Friday to allow health authorities work out with whom he may have been in close contact. State member for Ryde Victor Dominello said he was informed by the NSW Health and the Department of Education that all staff and students identified as close contacts of the boy will remain in self-isolation for 14 days. Epping Boys High School will reopen on Monday. Credit:Getty In a Facebook post, Mr Dominello said the school would be "vigilant" in implementing infection control measures "and will make hand sanitiser available for all staff and students to use while at school". The boy's mother is a nurse who works at Ryde Hospital and had been in contact with a 53-year-old doctor who was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this week.

A man in his 50s, another woman in her 40s, and a woman in her 20s have also been diagnosed with COVID-19 after they were identified as close contacts of other cases of the disease and placed in quarantine. Loading Two other new cases were confirmed in men returning from Italy. A man in his 70s who returned from Italy and displayed symptoms a day after arriving in NSW. He left Doha on flight QR908 on March 1. While the man was not showing symptoms on the plane, a NSW Health spokeswoman said they were contacting passengers who were on that flight out of an abundance of caution. Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said we were “certainly seeing this COVID-19 problem spread” within Australia and overseas.

While he said the situation was “becoming more complex” in NSW, health authorities were still looking to contain the spread of the disease. “We’re still … continuing to look for, find cases and their contacts and to isolate them as quickly as possible to decrease further spread into the community,” he said. “We have had some community-based cases now which don’t have a direct travel link, that’s to be expected, but minised for as long as possible”. There have now been 36 cases confirmed in NSW, with all bar one in isolation in Westmead, Royal North Shore or Royal Prince Alfred hospitals. A woman in her 60s with COVID-19 is in home isolation. So far in Sydney there has been a community outbreak linked to the Dorothy Henderson Lodge Aged Care Facility in Macquarie Park. On Friday NSW Health confirmed three staff members of the facility and four residents, including one who died, had contracted the disease.

The facility remains in lock-down with visitors banned, residents eating their meals in their rooms and staff working in personal protective equipment. Loading Two doctors and a nurse working at three separate Sydney hospitals have also tested positive, forcing health authorities to send home more than 170 hospital staff to self-isolate. On Friday Premier Gladys Berekijlian warned there would be "an escalation" of cases in the state.