Covid NSW: Greater Sydney lockdown extended to July 16

Find out what Greater Sydney’s lockdown extension means for businesses and schools next week. Full details.

Lockdown will be extended for another week with Sydney students forced to learn from home as the NSW government asks for more time combat the virulent Delta strain.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian reached the decision in a high stakes meeting of the government’s crisis cabinet late on Tuesday.

Under the plan, the current lockdown in Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour will be extended until 11.59pm July 16.

In all other parts of NSW current restrictions will continue.

Face-to-face learning will resume in regional NSW from Tuesday, but learning will be remote and online for schools in Greater Sydney.

The government plans for all students to return to the class from Monday July 19. However, no child will be turned away from school in the meantime with schools open for students who need them.

The decision to extend the lockdown came after people continued to test positive before being sent into strict isolation as “close contacts”.

In the 10 days since lockdown began, 122 new cases were in the community while potentially infectious.

In a bid to support business, the government has committed to announce a detailed step-by-step road map for easing restrictions – complete with dates – within days.

The Premier is personally committed to giving the community and businesses certainty for the coming weeks and months.

This is also the reasoning behind the premier making the announcement at 11am Wednesday rather than keeping the state waiting until Friday.

There were multiple crisis cabinet committee meetings on Tuesday including in the morning and afternoon to reach the decision.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has extended the Sydney lockdown by seven days. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

It’s understood government officials had considered three options for extending the lockdown: a three-day extension, a five-day extension, or one lasting a full seven days – all subject to health advice.

Since the Bondi cluster began, 19 mystery cases have been recorded, with those cases linked to another 54 Covid-positive contacts. Health officials have linked 257 cases directly to the Bondi outbreak.

Of the 18 new local cases recorded on Tuesday, seven had been in the community for at least part of their infectious period.

Even when the lockdown lifts, restrictions will stay in place because of the highly infectious Delta strain.

Ms Berejiklian said the new variant requires a “different type of response” to previous iterations of the virus.

“This strain is very different to what we’ve experienced … you can’t afford to let this get away from you,” she said.

The government wants the current lockdown to be the “last lockdown until we get the majority of our citizens vaccinated,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Experts have estimated the Delta strain is around 50 per cent more infectious than the Alpha strain – which was itself more infectious than the first iteration of Covid-19.

That means we could be living with tighter restrictions than those in place last year when Sydney emerges from lockdown.

“We’re looking at a scenario where we don’t burden our citizens more than we have to, but we also have to accept the new world we’re living in,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“In between now and vaccinating a greater proportion of our population, we need to think about what life looks like.”

Chief health officer Kerry Chant Chant said authorities need to be “particularly careful” about managing the Delta strain.

Ongoing restrictions for hospitality venues, household gatherings, and workplaces could be on the cards.

Authorities also have a renewed focus on how Delta has been transmitted in retail settings.

Infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said the fact that daily new case numbers have remained flat is “good news”.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to see this outbreak peter out,” he said.