A coronavirus cluster linked to a club on NSW's South Coast has sparked concerns that similar venues could act as amplifiers for outbreaks in regional communities.
NSW Health issued a public health warning for Batemans Bay Soldiers Club late on Sunday after a further four people linked to the venue tested positive for the virus, taking the total number of cases to eight.
The new cases were comprised of one staff member, two people who dined at the club and a close contact of one of the previously reported cases.
All staff and patrons who visited the venue on the 13, 15, 16, and 17 of July are being directed to immediately self isolate for 14 days, even if they test negative for COVID-19.
Marylouise McLaws, an Australian advisor on COVID-19 infection control to the World Health Organization (WHO), said the social function clubs play in small towns means they are at risk of amplifying an outbreak as many members of the community pass through the venue.
"This is an indoor venue that increases the likelihood of super spreading," she said. "It does have the potential to become problematic."
The club will be shut for two weeks, a move Dr McLaws described as a potential "circuit breaker".
The outbreak comes as NSW prepares to enact tougher restrictions on people entering the state from Victoria, with all current travel permits to be cancelled and .
The Eurobodalla Shire, which includes Batemans Bay, was also added to the Northern Territory's list of hotspots on Monday, meaning travellers from this region will be forced to undertake a 14-day supervised quarantine after arriving in the territory.
Among the patrons isolating are at least 60 people in the Australian Capital Territory, which is located approximately 150 kilometres inland from Batemans Bay.
The coastal town is a popular tourism destination for Canberrans, particularly during school holidays, which have just ended in the ACT and NSW with students to return to classroom learning on Tuesday.
The source of the Batemans Bay cluster is still unknown, however, NSW Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant said on Monday.
"We will now be going back the 14 days prior to that to look at who was at the restaurant at that time and whether we can find and detect another source for the infection," she said.
Across the state, NSW recorded a total of 18 new cases on Sunday excluding the four new cases linked to the Soldiers Club, the highest daily tally of new cases in more than three months. Authorities urged people to avoid non-essential travel and gatherings, amid concerns of growing community transmission.
On Monday, a further 20 cases were reported, all of which have a known source, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said. The four new Soldier's Club cases were included in Monday's numbers, despite being reported on Sunday night.
Among Monday's cases were another three linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster in south-west Sydney, taking the total number of positive tests from the outbreak to 48.
"The concern in Batemans Bay is the ageing population down there and the transient nature over the school holidays of the population," NSW Police Minister David Elliott said on Monday morning.
"Make sure you don't put yourself in a position where you can pass [the virus] on."
Member for Bega Andrew Constance, whose electorate includes Batemans Bay, said he was "very worried" about the outbreak at the Soldiers Club, which he said was a "bedrock of [the] community".
"It's been a tough year for Batemans Bay between the fires and now this," he told Seven's Sunrise on Monday morning. "We are going to see hundreds of people needing to isolate as a result of this."
Residents in NSW are also being encouraged by authorities to wear masks when unable to physically distance as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced he would make masks mandatory in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.
Two pop-up coronavirus testing clinics will be operating in Batemans Bay from Monday morning.
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