CANBERRA, March 21 (Xinhua) -- Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt has slammed "unacceptable" mass gatherings as COVID-19 continues to spread in the country.

Greg Hunt on Saturday urged local councils to ensure that Australians were abiding by the federal government's ban on non-essential gatherings of more than 100 people indoors and more than 500 outdoors.

His comments came after photos emerged of thousands of people at Sydney's iconic Bondi Beach on Friday.

In response, the government of New South Wales (NSW) has ordered the closure of the beach in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19.

"What happened in Bondi was unacceptable and the local council must take steps to stop that occurring," Hunt said on Saturday.

"Each of us as individuals, as families, as groups, as councils, as state governments, as a national government has responsibility."

"Where something like this is occurring, the local council must step in and that message is absolutely clear."

There have been 874 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia as of Saturday morning -- an increase of 23.3 percent from 709 on Friday.

A similar increase between Saturday and Sunday would mean that the number of cases would surpass 1,000.

There have been seven deaths in Australia, six of which were in NSW, which has had more than twice as many cases as any other state or territory with 382.

Hunt said that there have been approximately 115,000 tests for the virus carried out across the country to date.

News Corp Australia reported on Saturday that the national cabinet, which is made up of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders, will consider restricting interstate travel and the prospect of neighbourhood lockdowns when it next meets on Tuesday.