Sydney desolate after stay-at-home orders clears CBD

The lockdown in Sydney will have an impact far beyond those directly affected, business and industry leaders have warned.

Indigo cafe in Double Bay gets a deep clean. John Feder/The Australian

Shutting down Sydney’s CBD and some surrounding areas for a week will cost billions and have an impact far beyond those directly affected, business and industry leaders have warned, while expressing some relief that the Berejiklian government has thus far avoided locking down the entire city or state.

Thousands of workers abandoned city office towers on Friday afternoon as businesses reeled from the morning’s announcement that four local government areas, including the City of Sydney, were effectively in lockdown for the next week.

Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry acting chief executive Jenny Lambert said the business community was taken by surprise, given Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s trenchant criticism of other states racing into lockdown.

“I think (businesses are) confused and frustrated and disappointed – and disappointed is the optimum term – given the fact that every indication coming out of the government was that all the evidence showed they were holding the line,” she said.

“Obviously circumstances have changed and this can be frustrating for businesses that had relied on the earlier line.”

Ms Lambert said that businesses “need certainty” to thrive and many had been blindsided by the drastic stepping up of restrictions after the message “seemed to be favourable that there wasn’t a need for a lockdown”.

“(It seemed) they were keeping a close eye on things in terms of the contact tracing and not too many unlinked cases, so obviously the frustration and the disappointment is clearly things have changed,” she said. “So we still encourage the government to be proportionate and lift the lockdown as soon as possible.”

Ms Lambert said the move to lock down the nation’s economic capital would have “significant” consequences not just for the residents in the four lockdown LGAs but also for the city’s commuter workforce.

Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox said shutting down Sydney’s CBD – where almost 500,000 workers commute every day pre-lockdown – would cost “billions” of dollars over the next week alone.

“It is obviously going to have an economic effect if they shut down Sydney for a week, it will cost a couple of billion dollars in lost traffic, trade and overall economic activity,” he said.

“We can’t get away from that fact, it will hurt businesses.”

Mr Willox said despite the high cost he backed the NSW government in not locking down the entire city, adding that it was a “measured and proportionate” response.

Business Sydney acting executive director Damian Kelly said the body backed the decision despite the impact it would no doubt have on the economy.

“The new restrictions are a concerning development, however this is a sensible decision that Business NSW supports based on the excellent track record of managing Covid outbreaks in NSW and the advice from NSW Health,” he said.

Some of the city’s most well-known pubs also called last drinks on Friday afternoon.

Even former prime minister Tony Abbott was seen joining the city exodus.

“No one wants to see this city become a ghost town,” he said as he charged down Martin Place.

“Let’s hope it’s over soon.”