Huge alert for FIFTY THREE new Sydney exposure sites including a major Westfield, multiple supermarkets and a McDonald’s – so do you need to isolate?
- A whopping 53 new Covid exposure sites have been identified by NSW Health
- Sites include a Westfield shopping centre, multiple supermarkets & McDonald’s
- Many sites are in Sydney’s south-west and west, but also in east and inner-west
Sydney is once again on high alert after 53 new Covid exposure sites were identified by NSW Health.
Among the sites include a Westfield shopping centre, multiple supermarkets and a McDonald’s fast food restaurant.
Venues in southwest and western Sydney unsurprisingly feature, including the Liverpool Post Office, Liverpool’s Black and White Pharmacy, 7-Eleven at Greenacre, Blacktown Woolworths and Westfield Shopping Centre at Parramatta.
Other exposure sites include the Woolworths’ at Bonnyrigg and Fairfield Heights as well as Wentworthville and Rooty Hill’s Fresh Fruit Market.
Parramatta Westfield in Sydney’s west has been identified by NSW Health as one of 53 Covid exposure sites
The McDonald’s at Kirrawee in Sydney’s south was another confirmed venue by NSW Health
Multiple Woolworths supermarkets at Wentworthville in Sydney’s west (pictured) plus Fairfield Heights and Bonnyrigg outlets were confirmed exposure sites
In a concerning development, McDonald’s at Kirrawee in Sydney’s south is a confirmed exposure site, as is Bondi’s My Flower Man in Sydney’s east and Leichhardt’s Bakers Delight.
Following Thursday morning’s confirmation of the 239 new case numbers, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian also announced two million Sydney residents living in one of eight hotspot LGAs in the west and south-western suburbs would have to wear a mask whenever they leave home.
Those areas are Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield, Liverpool, Blacktown, Cumberland, Parramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River.
From midnight on Saturday morning, residents in those LGAs cannot travel more than 5km from their home for essential shopping or for exercise.
‘If you step foot outside your household, you need to wear a mask at all times. It doesn’t matter where it is,’ the Premier said.
‘We’re seeing too much evidence of people who are not wearing masks when they need to.’
Penalties for not wearing a face mask will increase from $200 to $500, with thousands of police officers deployed across Greater Sydney to enforce the tightened restrictions.
From midnight on Saturday morning, residents in the eight LGAs also cannot travel more than 5km from their home for essential shopping or for exercise.
‘These harsh measures are the harshest Australia has ever faced in a lockdown,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
‘The Delta strain is different to anything we have seen.
‘I appreciate whilst all of us are under stress and pressure with the lockdown, if you live in those eight local government areas, we are asking so much of you.’
ALL THE CHANGES TO GREATER SYDNEY’S LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS
From 11.59pm on Wednesday July 28:
Greater Sydney residents including the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour must limit essential shopping trips to within 10km of their homes.
Non-essential workers living in the Parramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River LGAs cannot leave their area for work.
The same rules already applied for residents in Fairfield, Cumberland, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool and Blacktown.
Essential workers leaving Canterbury-Bankstown will need to be tested every three days.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has extended Sydney’s stay-at-home lockdown for another four weeks
In Fairfield and Cumberland, only aged care and healthcare workers must be tested every three days.
From 12.01am on Saturday, July 31:
Construction sites can reopen outside the eight LGAs under tighter restrictions.
A singles bubble will be opened – allowing couples to visit each other’s homes.
Tradesmen can resume work as long as they do not come into contact with residents. That work will also be banned in the eight LGAs of concern.
From August 16:
Year 12s will return to face-to-face learning and a Pfizer vaccination program will begin in the eight LGAs where transmission of Covid-19 is at its highest.
Rapid antigen testing will also be used for students returning to school across Greater Sydney.