A man who drives international air crew to and from Sydney Airport has been diagnosed with COVID-19, ending 12 consecutive days without a locally acquired case of the virus in NSW.
In the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday, NSW recorded zero new cases of locally acquired COVID-19, as well as seven cases in hotel quarantine.
However, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the new locally acquired case was discovered after that 24-hour period.
The 45-year-old man, who drives vans ferrying international air crew, was first symptomatic on Saturday but did not get tested until Tuesday afternoon.
He was confirmed virus-positive on Wednesday morning.
"(This) highlights what I was talking about last week when I said that the NSW government's focus, as the virus seemed to be contained in terms of community transmission, our most exposed areas (were) principally around our borders," Mr Hazzard told reporters.
"We may be an island, but we are not totally isolated from the pandemic that is raging across the world."
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the man worked only with air crew members and was not involved in regular taxi services for the public. He wore a mask while working and took all necessary precautions.
The other three members of his household have been isolated and tested for the virus, while contact tracing is underway.
Mr Hazzard said at least 2000 international air crew members were touching down in Sydney each week, with turnarounds of up to 72 hours before flying out again.
While they did not have total liberty, air crew had more freedom of movement than returned travellers in hotel quarantine, who cannot leave their rooms.
Mr Hazzard said that if National Cabinet did not establish a nationwide regime for arriving air crew, NSW may implement changes unilaterally.
That would entail placing air crew in full hotel quarantine, but only until their next flight out of the country.
"Our inclination is to say to international air crews and airlines ... crews coming in to NSW will be most likely to be required to quarantine in the same way as other international visitors," Mr Hazzard said.
"We need to be cognisant of the need to work with the airlines to make sure their air crew are able to come in to NSW and Australia, but also to make sure they do it in a safe way."
The COVID-positive case's employer, Sydney Ground Transport in inner Sydney's Alexandria, has ceased operations while contact tracing is underway.
One COVID-19 patient in NSW is currently in intensive care.
Meanwhile, Sydney's major arts and cultural institutions - including the Art Gallery of NSW, Australian Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art and State Library - will stay open later over summer in a move designed to bring people back into the city amid the pandemic.
The move will cost the state government almost $1.5 million.
