Sydney lockdown extended by two weeks

Gladys Berejiklian has extended Sydney’s Covid-19 lockdown by another two weeks – and dropped a hint that it will go even longer.

Gladys Berejiklian has hinted Sydney’s latest Covid-19 lockdown extension will go longer than two weeks, saying at that point officials will know “to what extent” restrictions will have to continue.

The NSW Premier announced on Wednesday that the current lockdown would continue until the end of July, having earlier foreshadowed that it would be virtually “impossible” for the stay-at-home orders to be lifted at midnight this Friday as planned.

“We need to extend the lockdown at least a further two weeks, from Friday the 16th to Friday the 30th with the current settings,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters.

“That includes home learning, however we will obviously assess the situation at the end of those two weeks.”

Ms Berejiklian thanked Sydneysiders “for the work we’ve been doing”, claiming that “we are in this together”.

“(That’s why we have) provided additional funding so businesses and individuals don’t stress, to make sure we keep public health safe, individuals or businesses will remain well supported,” she said.

“Of course we want to see this lockdown end in a timely way but no matter how long we do need, we will have that support for businesses and individuals.”

The extension means Sydneysiders will spend at least five weeks in lockdown.

Restrictions in regional NSW remain unchanged.

An empty Martin Place in the CBD. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

The initial two-week stay-at-home orders for Greater Sydney – including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour – had already been extended by one week, after locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 ran rampant.

Since Sunday, community transmission has spread across the city with 77, 112, 89 and 97 cases daily.

Among Wednesday’s 97 new cases, 24 of those had been infectious while in the community.

“That is the number, the 24 number is what we need to get down to as close to zero as possible,” Ms Berejiklian said.

Asked whether the two-week extension would be enough to get the case numbers down, the Premier said that was the current advice provided by NSW Health.

“We will know at the end of two weeks to what extent we need to extend the lockdown, whether there is any chance of face-to-face schooling,” she said.

“There are a number of issues we won’t know until we have further data. Remember the impact of some of the changes we are putting in place will not be felt for the next few days. It is important for us to assess all the advice we have which will be based on data and that will take us the next two weeks to make that assessment.”

Ms Berejiklian said she did not want to “provide guesswork to the community”.

“The community deserve certainty and the community needs to know exactly what decisions the NSW government has made,” she said.

“Every time we communicate something to you, we will provide certainty.”

Gladys Berejiklian and Brad Hazzard. Picture: MatrixNews

The Premier said whether or not the lockdown would be extended was up to the public, claiming that the government had done all the right things.

“It relies on all of us doing the right thing,” she said.

“I would love to be able to predict what proportion of our population will stick to the rules. We know the settings we have in place are the right settings. What we don’t know is what proportion of the population will choose to follow those settings.”

NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said the “key metrics” being tracked by officials were “mobility and movement”, as well as how quickly cases were being contact traced.

“What I can say to the community is that we need to decrease our movements, particularly in the areas of south-western Sydney and Canterbury-Bankstown, St George, Sutherland, that sort of area,” she said.

“We need to take this seriously and contemplate our need to leave the home. We want to look closely at that mobility data. We have seen some response but it needs to be better.”

Two people have died after contracting the virus since Friday.

The strongest indication the lockdown would remain past July 16 was the announcement of a huge support scheme for businesses affected in the city last night, which economists say is based on the assumption the lockdown will last another four weeks.

RELATED: Follow our live Covid-19 coverage

Gladys Berejiklian and Dominic Perrottet. Picture: Christian Gilles/NCA NewsWire

Ms Berejiklian conceded earlier this week the lockdown would most likely be extended

“Where the numbers are, it is not likely – in fact, almost impossible – for us to get out of lockdown on Friday,” she said on Monday.

Yesterday, she indicated the extension would be addressed today.

“We’re not looking at the overall number of cases … the number we really worry about are the number of people walking around in the community with the virus,” she said.

“We will, of course as a government, take the health experts’ advice on what we announce as a next stage of the lockdown beyond Friday.”

RELATED: Seven words that end all lockdowns

Ms Berejiklian is extending the lockdown again. Picture: Christian Gilles/NCA NewsWire

Sydney’s deserted streets. Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

RELATED: The two different Sydneys in lockdown

NSW Health investigations have found the Delta variant spread has come from home-to-home transfers.

Sydney’s southwest has been smashed with heavy regulations as the areas of Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown emerge as the latest hot spots.

Essential workers in Fairfield must now be tested for Covid-19 every three days if they are leaving the LGA for their jobs. The new regulations have caused chaos on the roads with some of the community waiting up to six hours for a test.

Government health officials have repeatedly said the lockdown hinges on the number of infectious cases in the community.

Epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws said the lockdown could be extended for another month.

“We’re already in our third week, and it will probably take another three to four weeks before we get that proportion who are in the community down to zero, and then, some restrictions will be lifted, but we still won’t be out of danger until we’ve had at least 14 days of zero,” Professor McLaws told Nine’s Today.

The strongest indication of an extension was the announcement of government support for struggling communities and businesses affected by the shutdown.

The total support package for NSW is $5.1 billion, including $1 billion from the federal government.

The commitment is based on the assumption that the Harbour City will be in lockdown for another four weeks, according to economists.

Retailers and hoteliers welcomed the program saying it should be enough to stay afloat during the shutdown.

“The support is desperately needed and is welcomed,” Australian Hotels Association chief executive John Whelan said.

“NSW hotels have operated at a maximum of 50 per cent capacity for the past 16 months and the latest lockdown has hit particularly hard. More than 50,000 Greater Sydney-based hotel staff are now out of work.”

Business leaders and NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet had opposed the extension of the lockdown last week until July 16 due to the economic impact.