NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed that four local government areas in Sydney – the City of Sydney, Waverley, Woollahra, and Randwick – will be placed under formal lockdown for at least the next week in response to rising COVID-19 cases.
Those people either living or working within those LGAs will be subject to lockdown conditions, which includes a stay-at-home order. There will be only a handful of essential reasons to leave the house during this time: work or education that can’t be conducted at home, care or care giving, shopping for essential goods, and exercise in small groups.
The lockdown will apply from midnight tonight.
Today’s announcement comes after NSW Health confirmed that 11 cases of COVID-19 had been identified in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, six of which had been previously confirmed yesterday morning.
However, an additional 17 cases have been identified since 8pm last night, which are set to be included in tomorrow’s official tally.
NSW recorded 11 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, six of which were announced Thursday morning.
NSW Health has also been notified of an additional 17 locally acquired cases overnight. These cases will be included in tomorrow’s numbers. pic.twitter.com/YQ9dd4HeOd
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 25, 2021
These lockdown orders are in addition to previous restrictions placed on Greater Sydney, including Canada Bay, Inner West, and Bayside councils in addition to the four locked down LGAs. Those restrictions chiefly prevent anyone living within the area from travelling outside the metropolitan Sydney region for non-essential purposes.
At the time of writing, there has been no clarification on whether the locked down suburbs will be subject to stricter gathering limits. Official documentation from the NSW Government simply states that “residents across greater Sydney should also limit unnecessary activity and avoid large gatherings.”
However, people within the lockdown zone will be permitted to travel to visit their intimate partner, provided they reside within the Greater Sydney region. People are not permitted to travel outside the Greater Sydney area to visit intimate partners who live outside that region.
Businesses within the lockdown zones will also be affected by the restrictions, with those not providing “essential” services set to close.
The hard lockdown conditions will be in place for at least seven days.
You can view a full list of every suburb affected by the lockdown conditions here.
