Regional NSW faces new restrictions while Greater Sydney will be in lockdown in a bid to stop the spread of the highly transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
From 6pm tonight, new social distancing restrictions will be introduced in the regions including that masks must be worn indoors in all non-residential settings including at workplaces and organised outdoor events.
Households will be limited to five visitors at a time including children, and dancing and drinking while standing will be banned at all indoor venues, which will return to the one-person-per-four-square-metre rule.
NSW recorded 29 new locally acquired cases of in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, including 17 cases which were announced on Friday morning, bringing the total number of active cases in the current outbreak to more than 80.
Greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast are likely to be locked down until at least July 9 unless there are significant improvements in controlling the spread, she said.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"The best health advice today is that it should be for two weeks, but if there is any massive improvement ahead of that time, of course, we'll evaluate that," she said.
"We're finding that all household contacts, unfortunately, are getting the virus ... So we do need to brace ourselves for potentially larger number of cases in the following days."
Anyone who has visited Greater Sydney since June 21 and returned home to the regions will need to self-isolate for 14 days.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard, speaking at the same press conference, said he would "love to have more vaccines".
"But I understand that can't necessarily be the case at the moment," he said.
It comes after the Murrumbidgee Local Health District announced a ban on visitors to its facilities who have been in greater Sydney in the past 14 days.
"Across NSW screening and mask wearing is an important line of defence and we are taking these measures to protect vulnerable people in our care and our staff," MLHD COVID coordinator Emma Field said.
"The situation with this latest strain of the COVID-19 virus is fast evolving and we ask our communities to continue to support the effort by maintaining COVID safety.
"Particularly during this time as we enter school holidays we appeal to people to be especially vigilant with their COVID physical distancing, hand hygiene and mask wearing."
To find your nearest Testing Centre visit the NSW government website.
