To protect the people of NSW from the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, new restrictions will be introduced for the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire Local Government Areas, effective from 6pm today until 12.01am Tuesday 17 August.
Following updated health advice from NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant, stay-at-home orders will apply to all people who live in these areas or have been there on or after 31 July.
The rules for these areas will be the same as those already in place across Greater Sydney, as well as Tamworth, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock.
Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave. They also cannot have visitors in their home from outside their household, including family and friends.
People still can have one visitor at one time to fulfil carers' responsibilities or provide care or assistance, or for compassionate reasons, including where two people are in a relationship but do not live together.
People also cannot enter the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore, and Ballina Shire Local Government Areas, without a reasonable excuse to do so.
We understand this is a difficult time for the community and appreciate their ongoing patience and cooperation.
We are asking people not to seek exceptions to the rules, but to ensure they comply with them so we do not see further cases of COVID-19 in the community.
NSW Covid Updates: 283 cases, new death and Byron Bay lockdown
A string of Northern NSW council areas have entered a snap lockdown tonight after a man who travelled from Sydney to Byron tested positive to Covid-19. Read Monday's live blog.
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An unvaccinated elderly woman has died from Covid as the state recorded 283 new cases.
The woman, aged in her 90s from northern Sydney, died at Greenwich Hospital on Sunday. She had been in palliative care and is the 29th NSW recorded to die from the virus since the Delta outbreak began in Bondi.
Of the new cases reported on Monday, at least 64 of the new cases were infectious in the community.
Tamworth entered a one-week lockdown at 5pm today until 12.01am next Tuesday after a woman who caught Covid in Newcastle travelled to the region while infectious.
Residents stripped supermarket shelves bare on Monday morning in anticipation of new restrictions.
Five local venues were named overnight on NSW Health's latest Covid venues list with two considered close contact locations - Inland Cafe and the Tudor Hotel.
Toilet paper, tissues, meat and vegetables were in short supply in the area.
The Byron Bay, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina also entered a lockdown at 6pm today after a man travelled in his 50s tested positive for Covid-19.
He travelled from Sydney at the end of July and spent five days in the community before being admitted to hospital in Lismore.
Read Monday's live blog
Updates
Statement from NSW Health about North Coast lockdown
Byron outbreak threatens border bubble
The border bubble between Queensland and New South Wales is in tatters after Byron Bay, Lismore and Ballina were plunged into a snap seven-day lockdown.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said authorities would not hesitate on going harder on border restrictions if needed, adding “we’re very concerned at the moment”.
“We are absolutely concerned about what is happening in NSW,” she said.
“The further north the virus travels is alarming for us, so we’ll be watching that incredibly carefully.
For more on this story click here.
Penrith HSC students now eligible for Pfizer vaccine
HSC students who live or attend school in the Penrith local government area will be offered a Pfizer vaccine after a steep rise in cases over the weekend.
They join the eight other local government areas across southwestern and Western Sydney , where Year 12 students are now all eligible to get vaccinated at Qudos Bank Arena.
“NSW Health is also working closely with the Department of Education to identify the students who live in and attend schools in the Penrith Local Government Area so that they can be offered vaccination against COVID-19 at Qudos Bank Arena,” NSW Health said in a statement to the Daily Telegraph on Monday.
'Infectious while in the community'
Health authorities have issued a statement about the man who travelled from Sydney to Byron Bay then tested positive for Covid-19.
Lynne Weir, the acting chief executive of Northern NSW Local Health District, confirmed the man was admitted to Lismore Base Hospital and is in a stable condition.
“Initial investigations indicate this person has been infectious while in the community," she said in a statement to the Northern Star.
“To date there have been no additional confirmed cases of Covid-19 among residents of Northern NSW Local Health District.
“As a precaution, everybody who is in the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Tweed, Lismore, Kyogle and Ballina local government areas is being asked to stay on high alert for Covid-19 symptoms, and self-isolate and have a Covid-19 test at the first sign of any symptoms, however mild.”
Byron Bay area to enter lockdown
Four council areas in Northern NSW will go into a hard lockdown after a man who travelled from Sydney to Byron Bay tested positive to Covid-19.
From 6pm on Monday, Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore, and Ballina Shire will all be plunged into the same lockdown restrictions as Greater Sydney, Tamworth, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock.
The stay-at-home orders will also apply to anyone who was in those regions on or since July 31.
"People also cannot enter the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore, and Ballina Shire Local Government Areas, without a reasonable excuse to do so," NSW Health said in a statement.
For more on this story click here.
TGA approves Moderna Covid vaccine
The Moderna Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for use in Australia with the first million doses of the jab to be available in pharmacies within weeks.
But with a major boost to vaccine supply not due until later this year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has acknowledged Australians were “frustrated” with the pandemic.
“I know they’re sick of it,” he said.
“I know they’re angry. I know they want it to stop and for life to get back to where they knew it.”
For more on this story click here.
'Tamworth girl' apologises for lockdown
A young woman who caught Covid and inadvertently plunged her hometown into a one-week lockdown has apologised and has described the ordeal as the most stressful experience of her life.
She travelled from Newcastle to Tamworth on August 4 – before the lockdown was extended to the Hunter region.
The young woman, who The Daily Telegraph has chosen not to identify, visited multiple sites in Tamworth including cafes, a hotel, a vape store and a service station.
She has returned to Newcastle where she isolating but says bullies have subsequently dragged her name “through the dust”.
“I was not in lockdown, I was not a close contact and I had no symptoms on Thursday,” the young woman wrote in a heartfelt message on Facebook.
“There was nothing to stop me from visiting my family and friends in Tamworth. I am a Tamworth girl. What happened to country hospitality? What happened to looking after you neighbour.”
“I’m sorry you’re all in lockdown, but there’s nothing I can do beyond cooperating with the relevant authorities. I have done all the right things and now my only advice is to get tested and stay home.”
Toothless man's disgusting act at Covid clinic
Police are on the hunt for a man who lashed out at testing clinic staff in the Hunter and spat at an employee after becoming furious the facility was closing.
The man, who was described as missing his two front teeth, was waiting for a Covid-19 test at a drive-through clinic in Maitland on Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
“It’s alleged he then spat at the employee, narrowly missing him, before fleeing in a white-coloured vehicle towards Wallace St,” NSW police said in a statement.
For more on this story click here.
Rural students abandoned in border farce
Boarding students from remote NSW are being left to hike across state lines following snap border closures and some have quit school altogether as the pressure of multiple lockdowns becomes “too much”.
For more than a year, students who travel interstate for school have been repeatedly caught up in sudden border closures, forcing parents to scramble for exemptions to either bring their child home or send them back to class as there’s no national plan for boarders.
For more on this story click here.
Daniel Andrews takes swipe at Sydney
Daniel Andrews has taken a swipe at NSW’s lockdown approach, saying one thing doesn’t work, while being grilled at a press conference.
When questioned if continuous statewide lockdowns were a sustainable approach the Premier pointed to Sydney’s situation.
“Whether its sustainable or not it’s the only option we have,” Mr Andrews said.
“If there’s no lockdown it’s not 11 cases it‘s a lot more than that – I'm not here to be a commentator on Sydney but if you want to see whether locking down some local government areas works has a look what’s happening up there."
For more on this story, click here.
Covid cases surge in NSW as 2023 death toll revealed
Covid cases are on the rise in NSW, and the true toll of the virus this year has been revealed, with almost 4000 Australians dying from the virus in 2023.
Revealed: The Aussie age group still dying from Covid
Twenty-three Australians are dying every day from Covid-19 - but one age group continues to dominate the numbers. Find out who is most at risk.