How NSW COVID numbers got so high, and why Victoria is ‘on a knife edge’

Just a month-and-a-half ago, Sydneysiders were holding their breath hoping daily COVID-19 cases wouldn’t tip over into triple digits.

Nine weeks into lockdown, it’s daily figures above 1,000 the state is now grappling with.

More than 17,000 locally acquired cases have been recorded in NSW this…