Three new cases beyond Sydney's northern beaches are under investigation as fears grow of super-spreader events on New Year's Eve.

If you're in NSW and are keen to keep on top of new COVID case locations, this new tool may be helpful.

It's a called COVID-19 Near Me and has been developed by data innovation engineer Ken Tsang. On Twitter he explained that the tool uses open data from Data NSW and NSW Health.

It's pretty self-explanatory, and may help you keep safe if you're in "Greater Sydney" and beyond.

Authorities, who have just updated those location alerts found on the COVID-19 Near Me map, continue to reiterate the need for unwell people to be tested and to self-isolate.

Anyone in Greater Sydney whose home is not set up to allow them to effectively isolate from their families can be moved to accommodation arranged by NSW Health.

As the year draws to an end, we've had the usual lists - word of the year, worst phrases of the decade and words we invented in 2020 because we couldn't extend our vocabulary to explain how weird 2020 was anyway.

Have you heard the call to "holiday here this year"? Presumably it means 2021, too - as well as however long it takes for the world to scrub down after COVID-19.

Regardless, with the state of international travel quite what it is right now, it's likely all sorts of Aussies will venture out of their comfort zones in the near future. That probably means heading into terrain harsher than the the slip lane into the Coles car park. With that in mind, remember this: take water with you and stay in the car.

The North West Star reported on a father and his 10-year-old son were rescued from the roof of their bogged ute in flooded north-west Queensland. (It's subscriber-only)

Good job, you say. But wait for the kicker ... their three mates with them walked 50 kilometres in 12 hours to get help.

The ute became stuck west of Mount Isa on Sunday evening and the RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter reached the stranded man and boy on Monday evening.

Pilot Russell Proctor said the pair did everything right in a tough situation. Potential Aussie adventurers who are usually at safely ensconced in a hotel room need to lock in that lesson: carry water, stay tight, know where you are.

Did you know you can receive this daily digest by email? Sign up here

THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW