Sydney lockdown extended by one week, 27 new COVID-19 cases
Greater Sydney's lockdown has been extended by seven days, with a threat of even tougher restrictions in the city's south-west, after 27 new locally acquired cases were reported.
Only 13 of those cases were already in isolation, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, while expressing concern the Delta variant had now established a foothold in a number of suburbs in the south-west.
The existing lockdown will run until Friday midnight, 16 July, but Ms Berejiklian said residents in Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool may face stiffer orders to stop movement of people.
READ MORE: Everything you need to know about the lockdown for Greater Sydney
Sydney's two-week lockdown has been extended after too many cases were found to be infectious while out in the community. Getty
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Ms Berejiklian blamed the lockdown extension on the Delta variant, which she called a "game changer".
She hoped the extra week would avoid an in-out period of lockdowns.
"We appreciate and understand the stress this means for individuals, for families and, of course, for businesses."
READ MORE: Sydney students to learn from home next week
Three areas of concern
Three suburbs in Sydney's west - Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool - have been flagged areas of concern, where there had been high levels of transmission among family members.
"In those three local government areas limit your movement," Ms Berejiklian said, suggesting community transmission was rising in the west.
She said "a next step could be limiting even further movement" in those three LGAs in Sydney's west.
"But that's yet to be determined," Ms Berejiklian said.
"I only foreshadow that to highlight how concerned Health is ... about those three geographic locations and the way the virus is spreading.
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"We have seen the main cases move from Sydney's south-east, pretty much all of the cases we are seeing from south-east Sydney are now in isolation.
"So we are pretty confident the virus isn't spreading in that community but we have seen overnight some concerning statistics on what is happening in the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool."
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said what happens in the three LGAs over the next week "may well determine the future of this virus" in Sydney and the state.
He said NSW Health was still trying "damn hard" to suppress the Delta variant but if people did not adhere to lockdown orders then "at some point we're going to move to a stage where we're going to have to accept that the virus has a life which will continue in the community."
Ms Berejikilian said the next 10 days will shape "how we live" in NSW until large shipments of Pfizer and other COVID-19 vaccines arrive later in the year.
READ MORE: Sydney lockdown extension 'absolutely the right thing'
'Wake-up call to young people'
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant confirmed 37 COVID-19 patients were in hospital, including seven in intensive care, and more than 45,000 NSW residents were tested overnight.
Fourteen COVID-19 patients in hospital are under the age of 55, with one person aged in their 30s among the ICU patients.
Dr Chant called the statistics a "wake-up call to young people".
Zeroing in on the suburbs of Bossley Park, Smithfield, Fairfield, West Hoxton, Bass Hill, St Johns Park, Canningvale and Greenfield Park, Dr Chant said it was "crunch time".
"Our task ahead in the next 10 days is to identify all those unrecognised chains of transmission and lock it down," Dr Chant said.
Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said NSW Police would be out in force in Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown to stop community movement.
Home learning for Greater Sydney schools
Schools inside Greater Sydney will learn online, while schools in regional NSW will return to face-to-face learning next week.
"We need to stop literally hundred of thousand of adults moving around and interacting with each other inadvertently as they drop kids off, pick kids up at those usual times," she said.
She said the Delta virus was known to be more contagious among children.
"I appreciate how hard it is," she said.
Ms Berejikilian said she had considered closing schools in only some LGAs, but in the end officials thought it best to shut down Greater Sydney.
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