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Our cartoonist Guy Body shares his view on current events.

The likelihood of Sydney coming out of lockdown on Friday has hit a major hurdle, with 35 new COVID-19 cases recorded on Monday.

Of the new cases, 11 were not in full isolation when they tested positive, including one who worked across two construction sites last week in Auburn and Toongabbie.

Despite the unabating growth in new cases, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has signalled the city may still emerge from its toughest lockdown conditions after the planned two weeks.

"I foreshadowed a few days ago that the numbers were likely to bounce around. That is what we have seen overnight," she said.

READ MORE: Two new COVID cases detected at Sydney aged caree home

The next few days will be "critical" in deciding on the lockdown, she said.

"I can say that the lockdown certainly has been effective in not doubling and tripling the figures that we were worried about."

NSW's Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said 33 of the new cases are linked to a known case or cluster and 20 are household contacts.

READ MORE: Hundreds of GPs to offer Pfizer from today

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1411852699864240128

Construction sites on alert for positive case

Positive cases have been confirmed to have worked at a construction site in Sydney's west.

Anyone who worked at the construction site at 74 Aurelia Street at Toongabbie from 7am to 12pm from June 28 until July 2 is also close contact.

"This again highlights that we do have essential activities continuing and we do again urge everyone to be very vigilant for signs and symptoms," Dr Chant said.

"We are also asking the household contacts of those who attended these three construction sites to also immediately get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result."

Aged care residents among new cases

Also among Monday's cases are two residents at an aged care home in Sydney's north-west.

The outbreak at the SummitCare home in Baulkham Hills this morning grew to five with two more residents becoming infected with the virus since Sunday.

Both cases have been identified as women in their 70.

Both are residents at the home and one is fully vaccinated but one was not.

Cases linked to illegal party

Dr Chant pinpointed a gathering that took place at the Meriton Suites in Waterloo, in Sydney's inner-city, on June 26 as a potential COVID-19 spreading event.

Three cases have been linked to the party thus far. NSW Health has indicated it will be "looking intensely" at the event.

"I want to thank the vast majority of our citizens who have done absolutely the right thing. Unfortunately, having a party when you're not supposed to have a party is not doing the right thing," Ms Berejiklian said.

"Some of the cases today are a result of issues or result of incidents where people have done the wrong thing.

"I do implore everybody to keep at it. Let's not give up."

Police have issued 125 personal infringement notices over the last 24 hours.

Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said despite some people breaking the rules, he was impressed with the level of compliance.

"With five million people out and about in Sydney over the weekend doing their recreation and their exercise, I must say that I think Sydney did particularly well in terms of complying with the public health orders," he said.

Schools on alert

A student at a Sydney primary school is among the new cases announced on Monday.

All staff and students from Rose Bay Public School in Sydney's east must self-isolate until further notice after the student tested positive to the virus, a statement from the school read this morning.

"Our school site will be non-operational Monday 5 July, 2021 for the on-site attendance of staff and visitors to allow time for contact tracing and cleaning,' the statement said.

The Rose Bay school joins several others in Sydney's east which have been closed due to COVID-19, including Rose Bay Secondary College and South Coogee Public School.

The case is a close contact of another previous case.

"We are not exactly sure about the full infectious period but that person may have been infectious at school and hence the usual process around investigations and calling the close contacts for the child's year group," Dr Chant said.

Dr Chant has said a decision is yet to be made on back-to-school dates for NSW, or what restrictions students returning to school may face.

She said authorities are monitoring school returns "closely" and strategies such as minimising parent drop-offs and staggering what time different year groups start may be used.

Cases on flight from Queensland

Five of NSW's cases announced on Monday were onboard a Virgin Flight that flew from the Gold Coast to Sydney on June 26.

Everybody who was on the flight was ordered into 14 days isolation, regardless of their results.

None of the five cases pose a risk to the community.

You can find out more details about how to book your vaccine through the Federal Government health site here.

In a bid for more freedom, a serial killer has spoken of her challenges since being released from prison, ranging from making friends to using a mobile phone and the internet for the first time.

Regina Kaye Arthurell, who was jailed under the name Reginald Kenneth Arthurell, began transitioning shortly after being released from prison in November last year.

Once dubbed the "cowboy killer", Arthurell served almost 24 years behind bars for bludgeoning fiancee Venet Mulhall to death at Coonabarabran in 1995 while on parole.

READ MORE: Serial killer Reginald Arthurell released from prison

She had earlier killed her stepfather in the 1970s and a sailor in the 1980s.

An interim order on Arthurell's supervision expires in two weeks and at least two expert doctors have said they believe there is a medium risk of her reoffending.

Paul Quinn, the brother of murder victim Venet Mulhall, told 9News the community deserved to be protected.

The New South Wales Government is fighting to keep Arthurell under strict supervision for the next three years but the 75-year-old says she wants to live freely.

For the first time, an affidavit written by Arthurell has revealed what she says are the difficulties facing a triple murderer adjusting to life outside of prison.

She submitted the document to the Supreme Court as part of her argument for being allowed to live without controls.

Simple things like using mobile phones and the internet had been stressful, Arthurell said.

"Before I went to gaol, people would stop in the street and talk to each other. Now they talk on the phone. I can't make sense of this," she said.

READ MORE: Serial killer Reginald Arthurell granted parole after 26 years in prison

"I never used the internet before going to goal."

Arthurell says she is blind in one eye and her hands tremble and shake, which her doctor calls "essential tremors".

"When I got out of gaol, I bought my first mobile phone. I went through 4 phones in 4 months because I keep dropping them," she said.

"I have lots of difficulties using my mobile phone because there are so many buttons and options. I often push the wrong buttons and I don't know what a lot of the options mean.

"… I hardly ever send SMS because it is too difficult to work out how to do it and because my fingers are too big."

READ MORE: Serial killer Reginald Arthurell could be released four years early

Arthurell said she had learned to use the internet but had problems remembering passwords.

"I use internet on my phone to ask 'Google' questions such as 'where to buy boots from'. I also use Google Maps and YouTube. I listen to country music on YouTube and watch America's Got Talent. I used to use Google but Google seems to have disappeared again. I have an email account too.

"I once tried to buy something on eBay but it asked me for a password and I cancelled it because I couldn't remember my password. I often can't remember my passwords and there are so many of them."

Arthurell said she moved into a nursing home in the Sydney suburb of Yagoona but was forced to leave the facility in May after neighbours discovered more about her.

She said she had since applied to rent more than 30 homes.

READ MORE: Outback serial killer Reginald 'Tex' Arthurell to be freed

"I don't have any people in my life other than my support workers," she said.

"It's hard to make new friends. I think mostly because of my criminal history and because of the media articles about me."

The serial killer expressed a desire to reconnect with a former prison friend nicknamed "Kiwi", but police have banned the pair from having contact.

She also claims to have been double-crossed by a member of a support group, alleging the woman "pretended to be my friend and I let her take pictures of my wigs. Then one day I started receiving threatening SMS' from her and realised she'd set me up."

Under a subhead titled "things I like to do and people in my life", Arthurell says in her affidavit that she spends her free time reading books, doing artwork and shopping.

"I really like nice clothes, wigs, nail polish and I spent time buying these things and getting dressed up," she said.

"I enjoy these things and take pride in my appearance."

She said she had completed an arts degree in custody and an archaeological thesis but also wanted "to do fashion leather work and make leather items".

"I really like doing this and I think it's important to have interests. I would like to resume doing this and have started going to some saddlery shops to look at items.

"I recently bought a really nice pair of leather boots."

Victim's brother warns of 'danger to society'

Mr Quinn, Ms Mulhall's brother, said the killer would always need to be monitored and would remain a "danger to society" until on the "wrong side of the grass".

He said he was worried about the idea of Arthurell being allowed to travel anywhere in Australia.

Mr Quinn said when the killer left his sister for dead, Arthurell was dressed as a female, who witnesses at the time mistook for the victim.

"This person doesn't have a desire to be in a relationship, he's a psychopath and he is just looking for somebody to take advantage of. He's done that all his life", Mr Quinn said.

There have been 16 conditions proposed for Arthurell's supervision, including electronic monitoring, restrictions on where she can go and who she associates with, and limits on phone and internet use.

A decision is expected in the coming weeks.

A Kookaburra has been rescued after becoming stuck in a Brisbane chimney.

While the discovery is a bit of a distance from an old gum tree, RSPCA rescuers were able to safely retrieve the feathered native.

Brisbane pet grooming boutique The Pet Pad shared the moment the bird was pulled out from the Ascot fireplace.

READ MORE: Teenage boy eaten by crocodile in India just days after similar attack

"You've had a big adventure," a women can be heard saying.

The little guy was a bit dusty, however 9News has been told he was otherwise unharmed.

The bird has since been released into nearby bushland.

The Suez Canal Authority today said it has reached an agreement to settle a financial dispute with the owners of a hulking container ship that blocked the crucial waterway for nearly a week earlier this year.

The authority did not reveal details on the settlement deal with the Shoei Kisen Kaisha Ltd, the Japanese owner of the Ever Given.

It said the deal will be signed in a ceremony in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia on Wednesday.

READ MORE: IKEA and other businesses still have products stuck in the Suez Canal

The vessel would also be freed Wednesday, it said.

The head of Egypt's Suez Canal Authority, Lieutenant General Osama Rabie, said last month the parties had agreed on a compensation amount.

But he said it would not be made public as they had signed a non-disclosure agreement until the signing of the final contract.

The vessel had run aground in the single-lane stretch of the canal on March 23 before it was extracted six days later after a massive salvage effort by a flotilla of tugboats.

Since it was freed, the Panama-flagged, Japanese-owned vessel, which carries cargo between Asia and Europe, has been ordered by authorities to remain in a holding lake mid-canal, along with most of its crew, as the two sides negotiated a settlement.

The disagreement had centered on the compensation amount the Suez Canal Authority is claiming for the salvage of the vessel.

The money would cover the salvage operation, costs of stalled canal traffic, and lost transit fees for the week the Ever Given blocked the canal.

READ MORE: Ever Given crew could be stuck on vessel for years

At first, the Suez Canal Authority demanded US$916 million in compensation ($1.2 billion), which was later lowered to US$550 million ($729.9 million).

The two sides have traded blame for the vessel's grounding, with bad weather, poor decisions on the part of canal authorities, and human and technical error all being thrown out as possible factors.

The six-day blockage disrupted global shipping. Hundreds of ships waited in place for the canal to be unblocked, while some ships were forced to take the much longer route around the Cape of Good Hope at Africa's southern tip, requiring additional fuel and other costs.

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