NSW records 30 new coronavirus cases as Sydney wakes up to its first day of citywide lockdown – but Gladys Berejiklian warns there are even worse days to come
- New South Wales has reported 30 new Covid cases in 24 hours to Sunday
- Greater Sydney was thrust into a two-week lockdown from 6pm Saturday
- One of the new cases is Virgin Australia flight attendant who caught five flights
New South Wales has reported 30 new cases of Covid on the first full day of lockdown in Greater Sydney.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new cases are all linked to the Bondi cluster in Sydney’s east.
She thanked Sydney residents for embracing the necessary lockdown and commended more than 52,000 people for getting tested overnight.
The new cases also include a Virgin Australia flight attendant who tested positive after working as a crew member on five flights between Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast on Friday and Saturday.
That crew member is now in isolation while Virgin works to contact every team member who would be considered a close contact.
A Virgin flight attendant (not pictured) also tested positive for the virus on Saturday night after potentially being infectious on five flights through Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne
The city’s new light rail system was running at extremely limited capacity, with public transport virtually non-existent throughout the city
‘Virgin Australia is requiring those crew members to cease flying, get tested and isolate. All passengers on flights the crew member operated will be contacted by health authorities and advised on the correct protocol,’ a spokesman said.
Greater Sydney was plunged into a 14-day lockdown due to the threat of the highly-infectious Indian Delta strain of Covid that originated in the city’s east and is threatening to spiral out of control.
A further 52 venues were added to the exposure list on Saturday night as the city comes to grips with its most dangerous coronavirus period to date, with 82 cases already.
Stay-at-home orders will apply to all of Greater Sydney including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Wollongong areas from 6pm on Saturday and will be in place until midnight on Friday July 9.
Eerie photos show Sydney reduced to a ghost town after the Harbour City’s two-week lockdown was initiated
Locals are only allowed to leave their houses for four reasons, which include for school or work if unable to do so from home, medical reasons including to get the vaccine and to give care, for essential shopping and to exercise outside in groups of no more than ten.
‘There is no curfew. You can leave your home at any stage to purchase any essential goods that you need to and that is a given. Be thoughtful and considerate about fellow citizens and no need to panic buy,’ Ms Berejiklian assured the public on Saturday.
‘I said that this the scariest time since the pandemic started and that’s proven to be the case.’
Regional NSW will follow restrictions that were previously placed on Sydney which include having only five visitors at a house, wearing masks indoors, hospitality venues reduced to one person per square metre and outdoor venues reduced to 50 per cent capacity.
Circular Quay, usually bustling with people from all around Sydney and New South Wales, was eerily quiet with the famous steps leading up to the Opera House completely empty
‘So for those parts of New South Wales that aren’t in lockdown, restrictions still apply because we want to make sure that if there have been any occasions where people unknowingly have taken the virus outside into the regions, that we don’t have any spread in those regions,’ Ms Berejiklian said.
Weddings will be able to go ahead over the weekend but will be banned from Monday.
Funerals can continue with a maximum of 100 guests and masks indoors while community sport will also be shut down over the next fortnight.
Shops will remain open and financial assistance will be available.