Harsher lockdown looms for Sydney with 111 new cases and a crackdown on rules breakers launched

543

View
comments

Thousands of Sydneysiders will be locked in their neighbourhoods, most shops shut, and ‘non-urgent’ construction banned as Covid cases spiked above 100 again.

The new restrictions announced by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Saturday, following a government crisis meeting, aimed to completely shut down the southwest Sydney epicentre of the outbreak.

Sydney’s numbers were again headed in the wrong direction with 111 new coronavirus cases recorded on Saturday to end the third week of lockdown.

Of those new cases, 59 were linked to a known cluster – mostly household contacts – and 52 Covid cases remained ‘under investigation’.

The case numbers health workers nationwide are fighting hardest to bring down are those where cases were infectious while in the community, instead of in isolation. 

At least 29 of NSW’s new cases were infectious in the community, while 10 were in isolation for part of their infectious period. 

These numbers were proving ‘stubborn’ and difficult to lower, Ms Berejiklian said

Of the 111 new cases, 83 were from South Western Sydney Local Health District and 11 from western Sydney. 

Another death was also announced on Saturday, a man in his 80s from southeast Sydney. The total number of deaths in NSW from Covid-19 is now 59. 

There are 75 people in hospital in NSW with Covid, including 18 in intensive care, and six needing ventilation 

There have been 1,137 locally acquired cases reported since June 16, when the first case in the Bondi cluster was reported. 

‘I can’t remember a time when our state has been challenged to such an extent,’ Ms Berejiklian said. ‘Not a single one of these decisions was taken lightly.’

‘We’re not managing to get that curve to come down,’ she said.

By 8pm Friday, nearly 82,000 tests were done and 23,715 vaccines administered.

Ms Berejiklian ordered Fairfield, Liverpool and Cantebury-Bankstown residents to stay in their local council areas from midnight Saturday.

Those residents cannot even leave for work unless they work in heathcare, aged care or emergency services until midnight July 30 at the earliest.

If they must leave their area for work for one of those reasons, they need to get a Covid test every three days.

While the three local government areas with the toughest lockdown restrictions remained the primary focus, restrictions for Sydney – extending to the Blue Mountains, the Illawarra and Central Coast – were also toughened. 

‘Just because there hasn’t been a case in your suburb or your local government area, don’t assume there is not,’ Ms Berejiklian said.

‘There is always a gap between the cases that are exposed and the cases may actually be in the community.’ 

Most retail will be forced to shut to reduce opportunities for people to interact, even fleetingly, as they go shopping.

Only ‘critical retail’ such as supermarkets and pharmacies will be allowed to remain open from 11.59pm on Saturday.

Businesses considered ‘critical retail’ also included banks, petrol stations, fruit shops, liquor stores and pet supplies.

These include stores that predominantly sell health, medical, maternity and infant supplies.

Everything else can offer click and collect services for goods ordered online or over the phone which customers can pick up or have delivered.

Ms Berejiklian previously insisted that it was not up to the government to determine was was ‘essential’, but has now backflipped.

From 12.01am on Monday, all construction to be paused and non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on homes to be paused.

‘Where there are urgent requirements for electricity or water or other repairs, of course that will occur,’ Ms Berejiklian said. 

This will last until July 30 when the lockdown is due to end, but like the lockdown itself, this could later be extended.

‘Nonurgent repairs, any form of building, renovation, construction, maintenance including cleaners into the home or workers into home will not be allowed for all of Greater Sydney until July 30,’ Ms Berejiklian said.

‘We know this is a big decision. We know the impact this will have on businesses small and large.’

‘Where there are urgent requirements for electricity or water or other repairs, of course that will occur.’

All office workers and others working from home should not be pressured to come into work and employers can incur a $10,000 fine if they pressure employees to come in.

‘We don’t want employees being forced into the office,’ Ms Berejiklian said.

Carpooling was also banned until July 30.

Cases dropped to 65 on Thursday after peaking at 112 on Monday, raising hopes the city could be out of lockdown on time on July 30.

But cases rose to 97 on Friday and this latest jump prompted restrictions including closing nearly all shops and tightening of movement rules. 

NSW Police deputy commissioner Gary Worboys said 162 infringement notices were issued on Friday.

‘Millions of people right across this state that are doing absolutely the right thing are being let down by a small minority of people that continue to be irresponsible and make their own choices and decisions that put themselves at risk and their communities at risk,’ he said. 

Sydnetysiders must from Sunday have a mask with them at all times and wear one if working outdoors, or if standing in a queue for food or coffee.

‘No matter where you live in metropolitan Sydney, Greater Sydney, you must have a mask with you,’ Ms Berejiklian said.

‘Even if you are exercising with your household, you might change your mind, be in an outdoor market, get a coffee, you must have a mask.’

‘If you are coming into contact with other people, you must have a mask.’ 

Virus fragments in wastewater were detected in the suburb of Minto on Friday, NSW Health warned. Previously the suburb had no Covid cases.

Minto residents were warned to immediately get tested and self-isolate until they get a negative result if they develop any cold-like symptoms. 

A crackdown on Sydneysiders flouting lockdown began on Saturday with 130 more inspectors being deployed from Fairfield to Bondi in an effort to stem the latest Covid outbreak. 

Officers from Liquor and Gaming, SafeWork NSW, the Food Authority and Fair Trading will be ensuring residents are adhering to protocol, specifically targeting the use of QR codes and wearing of masks.

Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello said Sydneysiders needed to respect safety protocol and stop treating the Service NSW application as ‘wallpaper’. 

‘The Service NSW QR code is not wallpaper, it’s there to protect your staff and customers as we battle the Delta variant,’ he said.

‘The green tick on the Service NSW app is a safety stamp — it means the contact tracers can do their job keeping the community safe.’

Mr Dominello said it was now compulsory to check in at every place of work regardless of the sector. 

‘It is now mandatory to check-in at all workplaces, supermarkets and retail stores,’ he said.

‘It is vital that businesses are displaying the QR code correctly and taking reasonable steps to ensure people entering their premises check-in using their phone or digital sign-in sheet.’     

Regulation Minister Kevin Anderson said officials will be focusing on ensuring businesses are operating under Covid-safe guidelines. 

‘Customer Service compliance inspectors will be monitoring businesses to make sure they are doing the right thing, keeping us all safe,’ he said.

‘We know complying with new rules can be tough, which is why we will be working closely with businesses over the coming weeks to help them understand the new requirements and ensure Covid-safe practices.’ 

More Covid venue alerts were revealed with busy bus routes in the city’s southwest, a popular Kmart, and numerous supermarkets added to the list.

NSW Health released the expanded list late on Friday night with the Seven Hills Kmart and Better Health Pharmacy venues of particular concern.

Passengers on some bus routes running to and from Bankstown have also been exposed to the virus and are urged to immediately get tested and isolate.  

The construction site of a new multi-million dollar aged care complex at Gordon in Sydney’s north has also been listed as a close contact exposure site.

The Grindley Constructions site on Bushlands Avenue was visited by a confirmed Covid case from 7am to 1.30pm on July 12.

Four Woolworths, three Aldis and several pharmacies scattered throughout the city have all become places of casual contacts.

Wollongong Hospital staff were earlier on Friday evening told they must immediately get tested for Covid and isolate if they visited a nearby 7-Eleven store.

The central west of NSW is also on high alert after a person with Covid visited the rural town of Molong – about 290km west of Sydney – on July 16.

The Western District Health Service said contacts of the visitor to the town of about 1,800 residents have been tested and are in isolation.  

Professor Emma McBryde, a disease modeller at James Cook University, said Sydney’s best case scenario was the lockdown lifting in about three to four weeks’ time – probably the latter.

Prof McBryde said the Delta variant of the virus is showing no signs of abating in Sydney and case numbers will continue to rise for at least a few days.  

Authorities will then have to determine when the virus has peaked ‘and then you have to start chasing those numbers down to zero’.

‘Probably four weeks from now, would be a minimum (about August 9),’ she said. Even then, the restrictions will ease only slowly.

The Burnet Institute’s Professor Mark Stoové has warned there was a two week lag between Victoria introducing harsh Stage Four restrictions and case numbers finally falling.

Melbourne’s strict lockdown successfully brought the virus to heel but went further than Sydney’s current range of restrictions.