Australia’s most populous state has reported its lowest one-day rise in new Covid-19 cases in nearly a week, fuelling optimism that contact tracing and social distancing were working to bring a dangerous new outbreak in Sydney under control.

According to Reuters, New South Wales (NSW) reported eight new locally acquired Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down on 15 reported one day earlier. Seven of the new cases were traced to a cluster in Sydney’s northern beachside suburbs, officials said.

“The trend is going where we want it to go, where we need it to go,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters. “We’re confident that the strategy we’ve put in place is having the desired effect.”