New South Wales has recorded another ten cases of COVID-19, five of which are locally acquired.
Four of the new community cases reported on Friday are associated with the Liverpool Hospital dialysis cluster.
There are now seven cases associated with that cluster and investigations into its source are ongoing.
The other five cases reported on Friday are in hotel quarantine.
It comes after the state recorded , including three flagged on Wednesday, that ended a 12-day streak without any community transmission.
Five of the cases announced on Thursday were linked to the Liverpool Hospital cluster - one healthcare worker in her 30s, two women who visited her, and two household contacts aged in their 60s and 80s.
The source of the second cluster - the three cases revealed on Wednesday - is under investigation. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said it is likely more cases would be diagnosed in coming days.
A spokesperson from Macquarie University confirmed that a student was among the recently diagnosed cases, and contact tracing was underway.
The rise of new local cases has threatened the prospect of Queensland reopening its border with NSW on 1 November.
Queensland on Wednesday gave NSW 48 hours to find the source of three new cases before restarting the 28-day countdown clock that triggers border reopenings.
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles said he was disappointed NSW didn't want to "share the aspiration" to control community transmission and had "effectively given up" on 28-day milestone that his state reached on Friday.
But NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said this accusation was "really offensive" and again attacked the Queensland government for not opening its border.
She said it was effectively easier for Queensland to reach the 28-day goal as it had a smaller population than NSW, had a closed border, wasn't taking as many returned travellers in hotel quarantine, and was further away from Victoria.
"Zero community transmission is of course our aspiration," Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Friday.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk Source: AAP
"All I'm saying to other states is look at what we're burdening in NSW, look at the GST contribution you get from us on average. Share the burden a little bit.
"I could easily say 'zero community cases' if I only had 700 quarantine people per week (but) we've got 3,000."
Ms Berejiklian on Thursday accused Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of making up rules regarding the 48-hour deadline.
The premier on Friday said she hoped to see open borders Australia-wide by Christmas, depending on Victoria's situation and warned tourism could suffer if borders remained closed.
Meanwhile, authorities are alerting people to new locations identified as having been visited by confirmed COVID sufferers.
An infectious person attended Potts Point's Monopole Restaurant on Sunday evening. There are also eight train services and two bus-replacement services between Sunday and Wednesday, which pose a contact risk. Stations visited by the services include Parramatta, Liverpool and Moss Vale and more details can be found at www.health.nsw.gov.au.
Ms Berejiklian on Thursday said the NSW government was considering making the Service NSW QR scanning code a compulsory feature for venues and businesses, after a restaurant visited by a virus case failed to record all patrons' details.
"I have no patience anymore for people, and businesses in particular, that aren't doing the right thing ... we can't have a few people let down the whole community."
NT reopens border to Sydneysiders
Meanwhile, Sydneysiders are once again free to travel to the Top End after the Northern Territory's decision to lift its coronavirus hotspot declaration for the harbour city.
The decision takes effect from Friday and will remove the need for people travelling from Sydney to do 14 days of supervised quarantine.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Charles Pain said a briefing from NSW officials had demonstrated that the current COVID-19 cases in Sydney were connected.
"I am also confident in the thorough testing and contact tracing response in NSW, and that this outbreak is contained," Dr Pain said.
"With this advice and our own review of the evidence, I remain confident about revoking greater Sydney as a hotspot."
With border restrictions reducing, Dr Pain urged Territorians to remain vigilant with social distancing and other measures to keep coronavirus at bay and said he would like to see more people wearing masks.
NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner is seen in Darwin, Saturday, August 22, 2020 Source: AAP
He said opening up the region to more travellers posed an increased risk of COVID-19 getting in, but the risk was low and acceptable.
"We could keep the borders up for months and months ahead, but we know what the consequences of lockdowns are," he said.
"For those arriving from Sydney, welcome to the Territory, but please respect the Territory and take your responsibilities very seriously."
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