Live Breaking News: 'Big changes' coming to Sydney lockdown

"Big changes" are reportedly coming to Sydney's lockdown, with police given 48 hours to redraft public health orders and get the city back on track.

Alexis Carey and Natalie Brown

less than 2 min read

August 11, 2021 - 9:50PM

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A rejig of the single bubble, banning trips to beach houses and a heavier ADF presence are among "big changes" to Greater Sydney's lockdown, with NSW Police given 48 hours to redraft public health orders and get the state back on track.

Police Minister David Elliott and Police Commissioner Mick Fuller briefed the NSW crisis cabinet this afternoon, with Minister Elliott and Health Minister Brad Hazzard involved in a "fiery" discussion.

During the meeting it was decided that the NSW police force and their legal team "will go away and look at redrafting our public health orders", Nine News and The Daily Telegraph report.

According to Nine, "police simply believe that, as it stands right now, the public health order is next to impossible to enforce".

Among the changes, people who are going to their second residences (like a beach house) will be banned from doing so, and there'll be a "big rethink" regarding the single bubble.

While it won't be canned, police are expected to "tweak it" to make it easier to check that people are only coming into contact with their one nominated person.

The NSW Government is also expected to request more ADF troops to come in and police these orders.

Read on for the latest NSW Covid news and updates. You can find our Victorian Covid blog here.

Updates

Signing off

That's all from us on the blog tonight. Scroll through for all of today's updates.

A Sydney healthcare worker is “shaken up” after she was allegedly punched in the head at a Covid-19 testing clinic.

A 50-year-old man, who was arrested today, allegedly assaulted 31-year-old Rebecca Boicheska on Monday afternoon in the city’s northwest.

“My first thought was just to run to safety,” Ms Boicheska told 7 News.

“I don’t actually want to exit the premises in case something else happens.”

Police allege Ms Boicheska was working at the testing clinic at Kissing Point Road in Dundas when she was approached by an unknown man who was not wearing a mask.

Police were told the man began filming the 31-year-old worker on his mobile phone, before allegedly verbally abusing her about vaccinations.

The man then allegedly dislodged the woman’s mask and punched her to the head, prompting several people in the testing queue to leave their vehicles to help her.

Police say the woman was treated at the scene and didn’t need to be taken to hospital, while the man allegedly fled on foot.

– Additional reporting NCA NewsWire

Former deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth has joined in the criticism of the South Australian Government, who have imposed a further mandatory quarantine period on the 56 Olympians returning to the state.

"The fully vaccinated Australian Olympic Team has returned home and is currently undergoing the mandatory quarantine arrangements at hotels and facilities around Australia, as any other Australian is required to do. No special treatment has been sought," the Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) said in a statement this afternoon.

"However, the South Australian Government has chosen to impose a further mandatory quarantine period when South Australian athletes return from hotel quarantine in Sydney, effectively inflicting a 28 [day] quarantine period for athletes at a time of mental and emotional vulnerability."

Inexplicable #auspol #covid19aus #olympics https://t.co/qWQ6stBnuC
— Dr. Nick Coatsworth (@nick_coatsworth) August 11, 2021

AOC CEO Matt Carroll said South Australian authorities "are subjecting [athletes] to the most cruel and uncaring treatment", adding that they were being "punished".

AIS CMO Dr David Hughes said the decision to quarantine individuals "for such a lengthy period of time is in my opinion unreasonable and cannot be scientifically justified".

In a series of tweets tonight, Dr Coatsworth declared the call "inexplicable".

"I know how hard the @AUSOlympicTeam medical staff worked to keep the team COVID free," he wrote.

"This decision by SA is a slap in the face to them and the athletes who competed in these games. #covidzero is an addictive and vindictive policy when taken to these extremes #auspol."

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Hours after a positive case was confirmed in the region, the Walgett Shire LGA in NSW's west will go into lockdown.

The stay-at-home orders will come into play at 7pm tonight, and likely will remain in place for the following week. They apply to Walgett, Warren, Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Coonamble, Gilgandra and Narromine.

The decision was made after a positive case in the remote community – which has a large Indigenous population – was detected, having also visited Dubbo and Bathurst during their infectious period.

The case is understood to be a 27-year-old man whose test result also forced the Bathurst Correctional Centre into precautionary lockdown this afternoon.

The man was tested on Saturday while in custody at the prison, and released on bail on Monday.

During the meeting it was decided that the NSW police force and their legal team "will go away and look at redrafting our public health orders", Nine News and The Daily Telegraph report.

According to Nine, "police simply believe that, as it stands right now, the public health order is next to impossible to enforce".

Among the changes, people who are going to their second residences (like a beach house) will be banned from doing so, and there'll be a "big rethink" regarding the single bubble.

While it won't be canned, police are expected to "tweak it" to make it easier to check that people are only coming into contact with their one nominated person.

The NSW Government is also expected to request more ADF troops to come in and police these orders.

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Australia's top Covid experts have slammed Liberal-National Party MP George Christensen's "dangerous" claim that "masks don't work and lockdown's don't work".

As the Prime Minister Scott Morrison slammed "crazy rubbish conspiracy theories" in Parliament, experts have moved to fact check the misinformation.

Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth has debunked the rogue MP's claims in a new video for news.com.au starting with his claim that masks don't work.

"It's not true. Masks do work because every time we exhale or speak or shout, sing or cough or sneeze, we've got bacteria and viruses coming out of mouths," he said.

"As soon as you put the mask on that means bacteria and viruses can go less further and infect less people. We've got really good evidence that masks do work in reducing the transmission of Covid-19."

You can read Dr Coatsworth's comments and watch the video here.

Mark McGowan has hinted that Western Australia could further tighten its border with NSW, declaring the state's approach to Covid-19 "a treat to the entire country".

During a press conference this afternoon, the WA Premier said "you could count on two hands" the number of people arriving from NSW into his state daily, though suggested further measures could be needed.

"Defence officers, government officials, members of parliament – it's very few people out of NSW," Mr McGowan told reporters.

"We're looking at what else can be done to toughen even further as we speak.

"We may have something further to say about that over the coming week."

He added it was "likely" the border with NSW would remain shut until the whole of Australia reaches its 70 per cent vaccination threshold – a target we're only estimated to hit early next year.

"NSW just needs to crush and kill the virus in NSW. That's what every other state has done," Mr McGowan said, calling his NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian's approach to the virus "wrong".

"I hear them say it can't be done. Well, Victoria did it, Adelaide did it, Perth did it, Brisbane did it.

"By doing what they're doing, they're risking the lives of their citizens and they're risking everyone else."

Ms Berejiklian has repeated that dreaded word – "October" – again today, leading many to fear it means the lockdown may extend well beyond the August 28 deadline and into September and October.

But when asked by reporters about that sentiment, Ms Berejiklian said people weren't listening.

"Please note that they are two different things. Lockdown now, plus opportunities to live life differently in September and October is very different to what life looks like at 70 per cent (vaccination)," she said.

"I want to be clear. For example, we have noticed in the past few days a huge demand for people who want to get back to work in those local government areas, for example in the construction centre, coming forward and getting vaccinated.

"That is why I am calling out to everybody to say, please get vaccinated because they could be opportunities, they will be opportunities in September and October for us to say to the community if you are vaccinated you might be able to do a certain level of activity which you can't now."

Ms Berejiklian confirmed the Hunter region was unlikely to escape lockdown as initially planned this week.

However, the news is brighter in other NSW regions.

"In the regions, Armidale has no extra cases, Tamworth has no extra cases, Northern Rivers has no extra cases. All positive signs," she said.

"In the Hunter New England area there were, I believe, around 14 cases overnight. The Hunter doesn't look like it will come out of lockdown later this week, however, we will wait on health advice.

"While the first three local government areas that I mentioned don't have any additional cases and things are looking positive, Hunter-New England, unfortunately, doesn't look as positive.

"As has been foreshadowed in Dubbo, two cases overnight. That follows — which is important to note — our health experts told some days ago that there was a sewage detection in it Dubbo but we did not have cases."

Given reports of people travelling into the regions and sending areas into lockdown, the deputy police commissioner was asked if punishments could be ramped up.

"Given regional towns are going into lockdown in a domino effect, can we beef up the fines for people who are intentionally recklessly travelling against the orders? Obviously there's so much at stake here, it could cripple businesses, kill people. Surely that's a level of aggravation of the highest degree," a reporter asked.

He said cops had issued many infringement notices and $1000 on-the-spot fines.
"People can also be put before the courts, that's the minimum that can happen, and police will always look at what is the best outcome," he said.

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