As six million people in Greater Sydney stare down the barrel of another month of lockdown the NSW government says it’s difficult to know what’s working and what’s not as it deals with a COVID-19 crisis.
“Let’s see what happens over the next four weeks,” Deputy Premier John Barilaro told the Nine Network on Thursday.
“I have no crystal ball to tell you what we do next.”
The Nationals leader was speaking a day after the state recorded a new daily high of 177 new coronavirus infections and announced the lockdown of Greater Sydney and surrounding regions that began five weeks ago would be extended until August 28.
The government also introduced new measures targeted at two million people in eight local government areas spanning 50km in the city’s west and southwest where people cannot leave the area unless they are essential workers.
There are new shopping restrictions with everyone confined to within 10km of their home and inside their local government area.
Mr Barilaro says limiting mobility is the key to the government’s strategy to crush the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus.
“We’ve got to keep people in their homes, away from workplaces,” he said.
Mr Barilaro said the crisis was still testing the government and its resources.
Meanwhile, nine young people including, eight teenagers from the west and southwestern Sydney areas under the toughest lockdown, are accused of breaking stay at home orders and becoming involved in a high-speed pursuit with police in the Hunter region.
NSW Police say the teens were travelling in a Honda Civic and clocked driving 200km/h in a 110km zone. A woman 19, and two teens – aged between 13 and 17 – have been charged over the incident on Wednesday while the others will be dealt with under the Young Offenders Act.
Each has been fined $1000 for breaching the health orders.
Meanwhile, Cumberland mayor Steve Christou says morale in his western Sydney community is “at an all-time low”.
“It’s like Armageddon,” he told Sydney radio 2GB on Thursday.
“We are now 19 months into COVID and we have no other solutions other than lockdowns.”
More than 10,000 construction workers in the area were not able to earn a living and people who had lost work had told him they were skipping meals.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian is facing criticism from one of her MPs, after keeping the Shellharbour region in lockdown despite no cases since October.
The decision was “bereft of common sense”, Kiama MP Gareth Ward said.
“If COVID was rife in the Illawarra and if there were zero cases in Sydney, Sydney wouldn’t be in lockdown,” the Liberal MP tweeted.
The Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong are also included in the extended lockdown, having recorded 19 of the state’s 2437 cases since July 1.
“Based on the health advice, it’s too risky to release any of them,” Ms Berejiklian said on Wednesday.
Other lockdown measures announced on Wednesday included more financial support for businesses and workers, a singles bubble for people who live alone and a partial reopening of the construction sector from Saturday.
Year 12 students will also be able to return to school on August 16, with rapid antigen testing used to halt the virus at the school gate.
Meanwhile, up to 40,000 Pfizer doses will be redirected from the regions to vaccinate Year 12 students in Sydney’s eight worst-hit council areas.
AAP
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