NSW Covid updates: Two week lockdown as Delta variant spreads

As a strict 14-day lockdown began in Sydney on Saturday, it was revealed a Sydney-based Virgin cabin crew member tested positive to Covid-19, sparking NSW Health to sent urgent alerts about possible exposure to passengers both in NSW and interstate.

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The entire city of Sydney has been locked down for two weeks after Covid broke containment lines around the CBD and eastern suburbs.

Everyone in greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour must stay at home until midnight on Friday, July 9.

People can only leave their homes to buy essential items like groceries and bedding, seek medical care, including a Covid vaccination, unless already identified as a close ­contact, care for loved ones, exercise in groups of 10 or fewer, and essential work or study if it cannot be done from home.

As health authorities feared the rapid spread of the virus, at 11pm on Saturday, they sent an alert about five Virgin airline flights linked to a confirmed case. 

Virgin Australia confirmed on Saturday a "Sydney-based cabin crew member has tested positive to COVID-19 after undertaking a rapid result test".

"The affected crew member is a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case from a known cluster in Sydney. Virgin Australia understands the crew member was not aware they were a close contact of a positive case until after they completed their last flight," the statement read.

A Sydney-based Virgin crew member has tested positive to Covid.

The affected flights areJune 25, VA939 Sydney-Brisbane; VA334 Brisbane-Melbourne; June 26, VA827 Melbourne-Sydney, VA517 Sydney-Gold Coast, and VA524 Gold Coast-Sydney.

NSW Health passengers "must immediately call NSW Health on 1800 943 553, get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result". Passengers now in other states must check for local health advice.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian calls for a two-week lockdown. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty

VIRUS SPREADS

Health authorities yesterday realised the eastern suburbs lockdown was futile when they discovered delivery drivers from Marrickville food wholesaler Great Ocean Foods were making deliveries to restaurants across the city while infectious since Monday.

“They have already been in the community infectious for a couple of days and infectious outside the area of the original lockdown,” NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

Dr Chant was worried about how many people the delivery drivers have in turn infected, who were unwittingly spreading it further. The undetected spread forced the hand of the NSW government that until now had until now had prided itself on living with the virus for the past year-and-a-half.

“A few days ago I said I felt this was the scariest time since the pandemic started and that has proven to be the case,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

“NSW always has a policy of not burdening our citizens unless we absolutely have to but unfortunately at this point in time we absolutely have to.”

There is a remote chance the lockdown will end early if after seven days there is a “dramatic” reduction in the spread, but Ms Berejiklian said the chance of an early reprieve was highly unlikely.

“The best health advice is we will need two weeks in order to get on top of the community transmission of this very contagious strain,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“We should brace ourselves for additional cases. We know the numbers will go up in the next few days.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the Delta variant was twice as contagious as any other strain Sydney had previously combated.

“No matter what defensive steps we’re taking at the moment the virus seems to understand how to counter-attack,” Mr Hazzard said.

“The Delta variant of this virus is moving around our community far faster than anyone could have imagined … To defeat this virus we all need to stop moving around unless we absolutely have to.”

There are 64 people currently being treated for Covid, but only one is in intensive care and the vast majority are being treated in non-acute out-of-hospital care. Community sport has ­already been cancelled and there can be no weddings from Monday, but funerals with 100 or fewer mourners can go ahead provided masks are worn indoors and there is enough space for one person per four square metres.

Childcare and daycare centres will stay open and ­essential workers can still send their kids to school holiday activities. Elective surgeries can go ahead as scheduled, as there are enough ICU beds with ventilators to cope with any surge of Covid patients.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also extended his support to the people of NSW facing lockdown but said it was a "necessary" decision.

Mr Morrison said $500 Commonwealth disaster recovery payments which had applied to the initial locked down zones would now be extended to all of greater Sydney, with aff­ected workers in those areas able to access the funding from July 4. 

"This is a truly global pandemic and it will continue to seek to have its impact wherever and whenever it wants," he said.

"So, as Australians, we have to endure these outcomes. And we get through them together. We get through them by looking after each other and following these common sense measures that have been put in place."

​NSW Health has been notified of additional venues across Sydney visited by confirmed cases of COVID‑19, as well as updated times and details for previously announced venues and public transport routes. FULL LIST OF LATEST ALERTS