- New South Wales extends its lockdown for another four weeks as the state records 177 new COVID-19 cases today — 46 were infectious in the community
- There was one death recorded today — a woman in her 90s
- Stay-at-home orders will remain in place until August 28 for Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Shellharbour and Wollongong
- Meanwhile over in Victoria, a mystery case of COVID-19 has been identified on the first day of lockdown lifting in the state
- The infected man worked at Mooney Valley drive-through testing clinic as a traffic controller
- South Australia’s lockdown has ended after no new cases of the virus were recorded
New South Wales has extended its lockdown for another four weeks after the state recorded 177 new COVID-19 cases today.
Of the new cases today, 46 were infectious in the community, while 22 were in isolation for only part of their infectious period.
There was one death recorded today — a woman in her 90s. This was the 11th fatality since the current outbreak began last month.
Stay-at-home orders will remain in place until August 28 for Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Shellharbour and Wollongong.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian tightened shopping rules, meaning residence are only able to visit shops within 10 kilometres of their home. However, residents can shop further than the limit if the item is not available.
Ms Berejiklian commented on low vaccination rates and said she knew today’s announcement was not what Sydneysiders want to hear.
“Please know I’m as upset and frustrated as you that we weren’t able to get the case numbers where we would like to,” she said.
The local government areas (LGAs) of Parramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River have also joined the growing list of areas subjected to an authorised workers order.
This means that only authorised workers in these areas may leave their LGA for work.
Sydney’s two-week construction pause is set to end from 12:01 am this Saturday, but major restrictions will still remain in place.
Construction will still be banned in wight LGAs, and workers from those areas will not be allowed to leave their LGAs for work.
Ms Berejiklian flagged further financial support to NSW residents and businesses and the government is expected to expand its JobSaver program.
Victoria
Meanwhile over in Victoria, a mystery case of COVID-19 has been identified on the first day of lockdown lifting in the state.
The infected man worked at Mooney Valley drive-through testing clinic as a traffic controller.
He developed symptoms on Monday, got tested on Tuesday and returned a positive result this morning. The traffic controller worked for two days while possibly infectious.
The testing centre has closed and staff have been sent home to isolate and get tested.
South Australia
South Australia’s lockdown has ended after no new cases of the virus were recorded.
Premier Steven Marshall said it was a “huge relief” that the Modbury cluster had not grown.
“Thank you so much to those people who helped us get to this,” he said.
“We won’t be going straight back to where we were before — we don’t want a relapse — so some restrictions will remain.”