NSW hotel quarantine in question after source of positive case revealed

No new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 have been diagnosed today, marking 48 hours since a quarantine hotel worker tested positive.

Two new cases have been diagnosed in hotel quarantine.

The news comes as NSW's quarantine rules for international airline crew are being reviewed after it was revealed as the source of the states latest COVID- 19 scare.

Currently, international airline staff are not required to undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing before arriving in hotel quarantine as many only stay for a short period of time before returning home.

Questions are now being raised as to whether restrictions need to be tightened after a quarantine hotel worker tested positive to COVID-19.

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Genomic testing has confirmed the hotel quarantine worker who tested positive to COVID-19 does not have a local strain of the virus.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said this afternoon the worker contracted a strain "mostly likely" from the US and is believed to have been infected by a flight crew member rather than a traveller.

"What we believe is likely to have occurred … is we probably had an aircrew from the United States who was self-isolating in the hotel, that is probably at the Novotel, and somehow the person who was doing the domestic work there actually did get the virus from that particular member or members of the aircrew," Mr Hazzard said.

Interstate border restrictions are also being pulled into question following the positive case.

New South Wales is expected to open its borders with WA on Tuesday however the possibility of a fresh outbreak resulting from the infected worker could jeopardise those plans.

An announcement on travel restrictions between the two states is expected to be made on Monday.