Gladys Berejiklian pulls out the big guns

Gladys Berejiklian will extend the Greater Sydney lockdown until October and impose even harsher restrictions on Covid-19 hotspots, including a nightly curfew and limits on outdoor exercise

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Bianca De Marchi

Gladys Berejiklian will extend the Greater Sydney lockdown until October and impose even harsher restrictions on Covid-19 hotspots, including a nightly curfew and limits on outdoor exercise in a final bid to curb runaway case numbers surging in the community.

After insisting for weeks that her lockdown settings were appropriate and among the strictest in the country, Ms Berejiklian abruptly changed course on Friday and implemented significantly tightened restrictions across the city’s 12 local government areas of concern.

Due to affect about 2.3 million people, the measures to be implemented from Monday will include a 9pm to 5am curfew, a one-hour restriction on exercise, and the closure of some businesses previously considered essential.

A mandatory vaccination policy will be introduced for workers from these areas working in the childcare and aged-care sectors; they will be required to obtain at least one dose of a vaccination ­before the start of September in order to continue working.

Masks will become mandatory in all outdoor settings for residents across Greater Sydney. Stronger powers will also be given to the police commissioner to lock down residential apartment blocks while assessments are completed for Covid-19 risks.

The Premier has repeatedly ­opposed these measures in recent weeks, believing them to be an ­unnecessary impost on individual liberty and unlikely to assist with reducing case numbers in high-risk regions of Sydney.

But on Friday, even as health officials conceded “mixed” evidence in support of nightly curfews, Ms Berejiklian told com­munities to “bunker down” as all strategies are deployed against the virus ahead of vaccination targets being met during September, ­October and November.

The Australian revealed on Friday that the NSW government was finalising plans to significantly ease restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals once the state hits a fully immunised benchmark of 70 per cent.

“I tasked Health and Police to work together to give me a final list of what we can throw at this, to leave no shadow of doubt as to how serious we are about getting the rate of growth down,” Ms ­Berejiklian said.

Officials announced 644 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, of which 71 were known to be infectious in the community; another 506 are under investigation for their isolation status.

Ms Berejiklian confirmed no further restrictions would be considered if the latest lockdown settings were unsuccessful, but appeared upbeat about the increasing speed of vaccinations.

About 120,000 doses were ­delivered in NSW on Thursday, with about 30 per cent of the state now fully immunised.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller conceded on Friday that, with hindsight, he should have asked for curfews to be implemented sooner, having dismissed the need for them earlier in the week. He said he had hoped existing compliance measures would have been enough to deter rule-breaking in the suburbs of concern, but new challenges had emerged during recent days.

“Why the curfew now? Because from the health advice and police on the ground, younger men in those areas of concern are being difficult to manage, they’re not complying. This is feedback as it comes in,” Mr Fuller said. “Yes, it has been a progressive lockdown based on the numbers … in hindsight, do I wish I raised curfews on day one? Yeah, probably, but you probably would have laughed me out (of the room),” he said.

Police issued 800 tickets for non-compliance with the state’s health orders, of which 500 involved people leaving their homes without a reasonable excuse. A further 300 cautions were issued due to what Mr Fuller described as “lineball” cases.

The Greater Sydney lockdown will be extended until the end of September but will no longer include the central coast and Shellharbour areas, which will be redefined as regional zones under the health orders and are likely to emerge from the current settings next Saturday.

Showing signs of emotional strain, chief health officer Kerry Chant announced the deaths of an additional four people – two women in their 80s and two men in their 70s. She conceded the evidence around the use of curfews was “not strong”, but that the decision would send a “significant signal” to the community.