NSW Covid updates: Tougher lockdown restrictions as 111 cases and one death recorded

NSW has recorded a spike of 111 new cases of Covid in the past 24 hours with a man in his 80s dying and 29 people infectious while in the community, forcing the NSW government to impose stricter lockdown restrictions.

NSW has recorded a spike of 111 new cases of Covid in the past 24 hours with a man in his 80s dying and 29 people infectious while in the community, forcing the NSW government to impose stricter lockdown restrictions.

The NSW Government has now defined essential shopping with new restrictions forcing retailers to close.

Grim news … Premier Gladys Berejiklian, NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys today. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

SEE THE LIST OF INFECTIOUS LOCATIONS

All retailers must close from 11.59pm on Saturday, with exceptions for essential businesses like supermarkets, pharmacies, petrol stations, car hire businesses, banks and hardware stores.

Fairfield, Canterbury Bankstown and Liverpool LGA residents are now subject to greater restrictions and can no longer leave those areas for work from midnight.

NSW recorded 111 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/9ZgomK36re

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 17, 2021

Office supplies, liquor stores, pet stores and shops that sell childcare products are also exempt from the retail restrictions.

Health and emergency workers are excluded from the new movement restrictions.

From Monday all construction in greater Sydney will be paused.

It comes as almost 82,000 people had Covid tests.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said emergency construction work such as emergency plumbing or electrical work will be permitted, but all non-essential constructions must pause until July 30.

Workplaces that force workers who could otherwise work from home to come into the workplace will now face a $10,000 fine.

Police issued 162 Covid fines, with Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys confirming policing efforts will increase.

Exercisers were still out in force at Bondi on Saturday. Picture: Tim Hunter

Mr Worboys said the state was being let down by the few people breaking the rules.

Three of the new cases are removalists who travelled to both the central west and northern NSW.

Dr Kerry Chant said the three people travelled to Molong for work, and were picked up through surveillance testing.

Dr Chant said surveillance testing was picking up near-misses but some cases have leaked through to the regions.

“The reason for our controls on further reducing spreading to regional NSW is our surveillance testing has picked up a number of near misses in people who were just about to come in contact with people in rural and regional areas,” she said.

“As an example three of today’s cases are people who travelled to Molong in the state’s central west on the 16th of July.”

The three workers had previously travelled through northern NSW for work on July 15.

“It does highlight that all regional communities should be on alert.”

Help during lockdown

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke with Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn on Saturday regarding potential support for people affected by the lockdowns.

It is understood a formal request has also been made to the other major banks via the Australian Bankers Association (ABA).

The ABA has previously put together a national support package available to small businesses and home loan customers significantly impacted by current or recent lockdowns.

New lockdown controls ‘unfair’, says Mayor

Fairfield Mayor Frank Carbone has slammed the tough new restrictions as “unfair”, stating that all of Sydney should face the same lockdown rules.

Faced with rising case numbers and another death, the NSW government today declared southwest Sydney would be subject to stricter restrictions on their movement.

Under the new rules to come in to effect Sunday, residents of Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown will be banned from leaving their local government area unless they work in health or emergency services.

Mr Carbone said the residents of the three council areas were being unfairly burdened with the responsibility of stopping the spread when it was a person in the city who started the outbreak.

He urged Prime Minister Scott Morrison to make a bigger financial contribution to the area.

“We all need to fight the virus together,” Mr Carbone said.

“The responsibility has now been put on southwestern Sydney residents, when the virus started with a person in the city and there are still people with the virus outside this area. We should not be targeted. We all need to fight the virus together, not each other. This puts a big load on this community. It will hit families hard. They can’t even go to work.

“We need the prime minister to make a bigger financial contribution. This isn’t fair. “

‘No end in sight’ for hospitality industry

Wes Lambert, CEO of Restaurants and Catering Association of Australia, said the harsher lockdown would negatively impact the industry.

“There are tens of thousands of businesses currently stuck under harsher and harsher lockdown rules with absolutely no end in sight,” Mr Lambert said.

“Business need more certainty about what the states’ strategy is to beat this outbreak and get open again, not just piecemeal daily worsening announcements and fortnightly extensions.

“The new LGA lockdown rules will leave hospitality businesses, already on life support and only able to offer takeaway, the no choice but to close if their staff live in those LGAs. It is an absolutely diabolical situation.”

Victoria records 19 new local virus cases

Victoria has recorded 19 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Saturday.

The state’s health department confirmed the new local cases about 8.50am and said all were linked to current outbreaks.

The number of exposure sites across the state has also exploded to more than 160 after several venues from the tourist hot spot of Phillip Island were added overnight.

Victoria now has 43 cases linked to the two incursions that jumped the border from Sydney’s deadly Delta outbreak.

The health department said all of the new cases on Saturday were also linked to known outbreaks, which have spawned from a team of Sydney removalists who transited through the state and a family that returned to Melbourne’s north from a NSW red zone.