As it happened: Sydney now in lockdown for two weeks as NSW records 12 new local cases, Victoria on high alert

It’s been another mammoth news day here on the national blog. Before I leave you, a quick recap of the day’s headlines:

• Strict lockdown orders now apply to all people in the Greater Sydney including Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour until Friday July 9.

• NSW recorded 29 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm Friday, including 17 cases which were announced on Friday morning. Eighty cases are now linked to the Bondi cluster and 20 of these cases are associated with the West Hoxton Park birthday party.

• The New Zealand government has announced it is suspending the trans-Tasman bubble for those flying from Australia for three days from late Saturday due to “multiple cases and outbreaks in Australia”.
• The Victorian government has flagged all of regional NSW and ACT will become an orange zone at 1am Sunday, meaning all travellers from those areas will need to test and isolate on arrival into Victoria.
• All travellers who have entered South Australia having been in the Greater Sydney area, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong areas, between 12.01am on Monday 21 June and 11.59pm on Wednesday 23 June 2021 must self-quarantine for 14 days.

• NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller says there is insufficient evidence to establish whether the eastern suburbs driver at the centre of the Bondi COVID-19 outbreak had breached public health orders.

• $500 Commonwealth disaster recovery payments will be available for Sydneysiders affected by the lockdown from July 1.

• More than 820 people have been immediately placed into isolation after an NT worker at the Granites gold mine, around 560 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, tested positive on Sunday.

• NSW Health is continuing to update its list of venues of concern with relevant health advice. There are now 224 COVID-19 exposure sites, including public transport routes. Keep on top of the latest updates here.

I’m Lucy Cormack, signing off. Thanks for staying with us.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian today pleaded with Sydneysiders not to panic buy in the wake of the lockdown, because all shops will be open every day of the week.

“There is no curfew, you can leave your home at any stage to purchase any essential goods that you need to,” she said.

“And that is that is a given. So please, be thoughtful and considerate about fellow citizens [there is] no need to panic buy.”

But it seems her urging so far has been to no avail.

Out in Sydney today, Herald photographers had no trouble finding lengthy supermarket queues and burgeoning trolleys. Of course there was one thing they struggled to find in some grocers - you guessed it: loo paper.

Queues building up and depleted toilet paper shelves at Forestville Coles.

Shoppers stocking up for lockdown on Saturday.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has thanked well-wishers ahead of his return to work on Monday, sharing that thousands who wrote to him while he was recovering from a broken spine.

Mr Andrews fractured a vertebra and broke six ribs after slipping on wet stairs at a holiday home in the Mornington Peninsula on March 9.

He said he had received tens of thousands of cards, letters and messages during his recovery, with the outpouring of kindness “the best medicine I could have ever asked for”.

“There’s nothing fun about about an injury like this – but your kind words, advice and thoughts have made all the difference,” Mr Andrews said in a Facebook post on Saturday.

“I’ll be back at work on Monday - fit, healthy, and ready to keep getting things done for all Victorians.”

We keep hearing about the four main reasons you can leave the house during lockdown: food, medical or compassionate needs, exercise and work or education.

But a closer look at the public health order shows there are actually 16 reasons you can head out the front door while under lockdown.

You can get yourself up to speed here.

The lockdown order became effective at 6pm on Saturday and will remain in place until 11.59pm Friday July 9.

And a reminder that the Greater Sydney region includes the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour local government areas.

(Premier Gladys Berejiklian did not mention Shellharbour during her press conference this afternoon, but we can confirm that the area is included in all information relating to the public health order.)

The New Zealand government has announced it is suspending the trans-Tasman bubble for those flying from Australia for three days from late Saturday due to “multiple cases and outbreaks in Australia”.

Quarantine-free travel for Australians entering New Zealand will end at 10.30pm local time (8.30pm AEST) tonight and finish at 11.59pm local time on Tuesday.

An empty check-in area at Sydney International Airport on Wednesday as the LGA lockdown took effect.Credit: Janie Barrett

Those travelling from New Zealand into Australia can still do so without having to quarantine on arrival.

In a statement, New Zealand’s COVID Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the country had taken the precautionary step of temporarily widening the current one-way pause with New South Wales to include all of Australia.

“There are now multiple cases and outbreaks in Australia in differing stages of containment and the health risk for New Zealand in response to these cases is increasing,” he said in a statement.

“This short pause will give us time to get a better understanding of the developing situation and to consider a range of measures to make the bubble safer, such as the possible introduction of pre-departure testing for all flights from Australia to New Zealand.

“I acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience that comes with this pause, but given the high level of transmissibility of what appears to be the Delta variant, and the fact that there are now multiple community clusters, it is the right thing to do to keep COVID-19 out of New Zealand

The Victorian government has flagged all of regional NSW and ACT will become an orange zone at 1am Sunday, meaning all travellers from those areas will need to test and isolate on arrival into Victoria.

Those coming from regional NSW and ACT will need to get tested within 72 hours of entering Victoria and have a travel permit.

Those arriving from declared orange zones are not able to isolate in Victoria’s Alpine region. The new hotspot rules will be active from 1am on Sunday.

All areas in Greater Sydney, including Central Coast, Shellharbour, Blue Mountains and Wollongong, became a red zone at 1am on June 25.

Between that date and June 11, those areas have been retrospectively labelled an orange zone, meaning those coming to Victoria from Greater Sydney during those dates need to get tested for COVID-19 and isolate until they receive a negative result.

Victorian residents who have been in a red zone, other than for transit, can get a red zone permit to enter Victoria but must travel directly home and quarantine for 14 days. They will also need to get tested within 72 hours of arrival and again on or around day 13 of quarantine.

Non-Victorian residents who have been in a red zone, other than for transit, cannot enter Victoria unless they have an exception or exemption.

NSW Health has released a number of new venues of concern across Sydney. There are now 224 COVID-19 exposure sites, including public transport routes.

Any person – and their household contacts – who attended or directly received a delivery from Great Ocean Foods in Marrickville from Monday June 21 (all day) to Friday June 25 (all day) must immediately call NSW Health on 1800 943 553, get tested and isolate until further advice.

Great Ocean Foods in Marrickville.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result, and call 1800 943 553 unless they have already been contacted by NSW Health:

• Café de la Fontaine, Potts Point - on Sunday June 20 between 10.30am and 12.00pm
• Revolver Cafe, Annandale - on Sunday June 20 between 10.45am and 12.10pm
• Churrasco, Coogee - on Sunday June 20 between 5.30pm and 6.40pm
• Woolworths Gregory Hill - on Sunday June 20 between 3pm and 3:30pm
• Matteo Restaurant and Bar, Double Bay - on Sunday June 20 between 6.30pm and 8.00pm
• H One Hair Salon, Hurstville - on Tuesday June 22 between 5.30pm and 6.30pm
• Speedo Fitness Club, Bondi Beach – pool area only - on Tuesday June 22 between 4.45pm and 6.15pm
• Macquarie Shopping Centre food court (Level 2), North Ryde - on Wednesday June 23 between 2pm and 2.30pm
• Crossroads Hotel, Casula - on Wednesday June 23 between 7pm and 10.30pm
• Yang’s Dumplings, Burwood - on Thursday June 24 between 11am and 11.30am

Anyone who attended any of the following venues at the listed times is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received. Please continue to monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate and get tested if they develop:

• Five Star Hot Food, Bondi Junction - on Tuesday June 22 between 1.40pm and 1.55pm
• Speedo Fitness Club, Bondi Beach – fitness centre or classes - Tuesday June 22 between 4.45pm and 6.15pm
• Coles Willowdale Neighbourhood Centre, Denham Court - Wednesday June 23 between 9.50am and 10.20am
• Bunnings Randwick - Wednesday June 23 betwen 9am and 9.30am
• Woolworths Chullora Marketplace - Thursday June 24 between 7.30am and 8.00am

Anyone who attended either of the following venues at the times listed must monitor for symptoms and immediately get tested and self-isolate if they develop:

• Bondi Pharmacy, Bondi Beach - Friday June 18, between 1.45pm and 2.45pm

The clock has struck 6pm, Sydney. Welcome back to lockdown.

Strict lockdown measures are now in place across Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour until 11.59pm Friday July 9.

William Street heading towards Kings Cross is deserted on a Saturday night as lockdown begins.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the emergency measures as the Bondi cluster grew to 80 cases on Saturday and the number of exposure venues ballooned across the state.

Under the new orders you must stay at home unless it is for one of four main essential reasons: shopping for essential goods, medical or compassionate needs, exercise outdoors in groups of 10 or less, essential work or education.

All workers are to work from home during the period, unless it is not possible in their line of work.

Ms Berejiklian earlier said it was never easy to face a lockdown, but that all Sydneysiders were in it together.

”We’ve had to do this before, we know the drill. And I’m just asking everybody not to cut corners because if just a handful of people cut corners, all of us end up in a very difficult situation,” she said.

“I just want to thank everybody for your patience”.

A few words from Prime Minister Scott Morrison this afternoon, describing the lockdown for Greater Sydney and surrounds as a “necessary decision.”

In a video message from the Lodge in Canberra, where he is completing his own period of isolation, the PM said he knew the decision to lock down was one the NSW government had hoped to avoid.

“This is a necessary decision that has been taken by the NSW government, a decision that they have not rushed to, that they’ve sought to prevent,” he said. “But at the end of the day, this is what’s necessary to stay on top of this latest outbreak.“

Mr Morrison said $500 Commonwealth disaster recovery payments would be available for Sydneysiders from July 1.

“You’ll be able to access those by contacting Services Australia. These same payments of up to $500 per week were made also available during the most recent Melbourne lockdown,” he said.

“This pandemic, sadly, is still raging all around the world. And from time to time it will have its impact here in Australia.

“I thank you for your patience. I thank you for your forbearance and together, Sydney, we’ll get through this.”

Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer says the federal health department is taking a positive case at a Northern Territory mine “very seriously” because of the site’s proximity to local Aboriginal communities.

More than 820 people have been immediately placed into isolation after the worker at the Granites gold mine, around 560 kilometres north-west of Alice Springs, tested positive on Sunday.

Authorities believe the man contracted the virus during hotel quarantine in Queensland.

Professor Michael Kidd said the Commonwealth was now working with the Northern Territory Government and Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services near the mining site to provide whatever support is needed.

“We are taking this very seriously,” he told reporters in Canberra on Saturday.

“Right from the start of the pandemic we’ve had plans in place to work with local Aboriginal communities to respond to outbreaks in remote areas in Australia.”

Professor Kidd said 67 per cent of people aged 70 and above had received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Of those aged 16 and above, only 28 per cent have received their first vaccine.