Central Coast: Year 12 students, tradies back to work as lockdown is extended by four weeks

Tradies will be back on the tools and Year 12 students back in classrooms. But the extended lockdown means new rules around shopping and signals the end of the winter sports season.

The state government’s road map out of restrictions will see the coast’s construction industry back on the tools from Saturday, July 31, and Year 12 students back in classrooms from Monday, August 16.

But the extended deadline signals the death knell for many winter sports with a resumption of any kind unlikely before August 28 being too late to reschedule enough games to salvage a season let alone host finals.

Meanwhile as the pause on the popular Return & Earn container deposit scheme enters its second week, concerns have been raised for those, including the homeless, who use it as a source of income.

Return & Earn reverse vending machines have been closed since July 20. (AAP IMAGE / Troy Snook)

And the “10km exercise rule” has been extended to shopping so “locals stay local”.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said people would no longer be able to travel beyond 10km to go shopping or leave their Local Government Area, whichever is closest, with a greater emphasis on “compliance”.

The Premier said at her daily press conference on Wednesday that Central Coast tradies could begin site preparation from tomorrow with “non-occupied” construction to resume on Saturday.

Small contractors would also be able to perform “contactless tradies” work limited to two staff inside and five staff outside as long as they could demonstrate they had no contact with household occupants.

“Non-occupied” construction work can resume on the coast from Saturday. Picture: News Local / Troy Snook

Trades people will not be allowed into eight affected LGAs under the stricter lockdowns in Sydney which now includes Parramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River council areas.

The move was welcomed by Business NSW regional director Paula Martin who described the extended lockdown to other industries on the coast such as retail and hospitality as “a crushing blow”.

“We know that normally, around 5000 construction workers commute to projects in the Sydney area so these workers will continue to be impacted in the short term however this development does mean some businesses can get going again locally under strict conditions, giving some certainty to business owners and their employees,” she said.

“Unfortunately, there’s no reopening when it comes to industries with a high concentration of employees like retail and hospitality, meaning many business owners and their employees will continue to suffer.”

Year 12 students sitting their HSC will be able to resume face-to-face learning from Monday, August 16.

Year 12 students will return to face-to-face learning from August 16 with the government investigating the possible use of rapid antigen testing in both schools and construction sites.

Rapid antigen tests are a bit like home pregnancy tests but involve a swab of the nose with a result in about 15 minutes.

They are less accurate than pathology tests but the Premier said they were more likely to result in a “false positive” which was not necessarily a bad thing.

Under the new health orders people living alone will also be allowed to nominate one “buddy” from their LGA who can visit them at home for mental health support.

Financial support has also been offered to businesses and individuals.

People continue to be urged to get vaccinated to help get out of restrictions. Picture: iStock

But the hopes of finishing the season for many winter sports looks dashed in the wake of the extended lockdown.

Central Coast Rugby said its deadline to resume the season in time for finals was August 7 while Central Coast Football said if it lost any further time beyond August 21, it would become “increasingly difficult to complete any competitions.”

There has been no word from local rugby league or Hunter Central Coast AFL, however it’s junior regular seasons were scheduled to finish on August 15.