Brad Hazzard says ‘entitled’ people breaking rules will keep NSW in lockdown

NSW officials have refused to reassure residents restrictions will ease on Friday, warning one group of people may “keep us in lockdown a lot longer”.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says “entitled” people breaking the rules and throwing parties may “keep us in lockdown”.

Speaking at Monday’s Covid-19 update, NSW leaders repeatedly refused to reassure millions of residents of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong the two-week lockdown would end on Friday as scheduled.

NSW recorded 35 new cases overnight, bringing the total in the outbreak to 312.

At least three of the new cases were linked to a rule-breaking party, officials said.

“When you hear of parties going on in the middle of a lockdown you have got to say, what is the thinking of some of these people?” Mr Hazzard said.

“I would say that those people who are thinking that the rules are somehow not for them, that they are more entitled than the rest of us not to listen, you actually have to listen because you may be the people who spread this and keep us in lockdown for a lot longer than the rest of the community would like.”

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the next few days would be “absolutely critical” in determining whether she would release NSW from lockdown on time.

“I know everybody is keen to know what is going to happen beyond Friday’s lockdown, as am I,” she said.

“But what I can tell you with certainty is that the next couple of days will be absolutely critical in allowing our health experts to collate the data that we’ve had in the last week and then to present their advice to government.”

Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys hinted that NSW Police were bracing for lockdown to be extended.

“I just ask people to stick with us,” he said.

“Police want to see people comply. It makes our job far easier and we (still have) a little way to go. So please don’t become complacent. The police won’t become complacent. We are rostered right throughout the rest of this week and preparing for what might be ahead so, please, we just ask people to continue to be with us on this journey.”

People enjoying the sun at Camperdown Memorial Park. Picture: Nicholas Eagar/NCA NewsWire

Ms Berejiklian claimed the stay-at-home orders had “been effective in not doubling and tripling the figures that we were worried about”.

“It has given our contact tracers the ability to maintain control over the virus but what it has foreshadowed is that unfortunately when a small number of people do the wrong thing it does result in extra cases,” she said.

Chief health officer Kerry Chant refused to say whether lockdown would end on Friday.

“I’m making no comment until I’ve looked at all the data,” Dr Chant said.

“Every day brings a new set of data and a new set of challenges and what we think in the morning can change in the afternoon. I’m really pleased to see that we’ve had some people come forward for testing over the weekend, which has allowed us to link unlinked cases, and the more certainty we have that we have tracked down every single case of transmission, that really does provide us with a lot more confidence in advising government.”

But Dr Chant said health officials needed to “make those links, reassess and reanalyse the data”.

There have been no guarantees lockdown will end on Friday. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

“That will be our focus today but as I said, the situation can change,” she said.

“What is most important at the moment is for the community to continue to follow the public health advice, continue to wear masks in indoor environments and continue to come out (for) testing in the large numbers they have.”

Dr Chant was grilled on why parents were not being given a firm answer on whether students were going back to school for the start of term three on Monday.

“That is for another time,” she said.

“I will provide my advice through the government processes but we have worked hand-in-glove with Education right throughout this, we have engaged also with the independent and Catholic sectors and we will be keeping them updated. Clearly those decisions are yet to be made.”

She said “as a general sense”, parents might expect some of the measures “that we have had in place earlier”.

“We try to minimise parents coming to drop off at the schools,” she said.

“We try and minimise mixing across school grades so that if you have one case you don’t infect a broader group. All of those strategies, that I think parents will have remembered from various points in the response, are some of the strategies that have stood us in good stead and I think they’re the sorts of things that would be informing policy thinking.”