New Sydney areas locked out as Covid-19 spreads west - NEWS.com.au

Two local government areas in Sydney’s west will be locked out from the rest of the city in an attempt to contain the Delta variant of Covid-19.

Residents of Cumberland Shire and Blacktown will be prohibited from leaving their suburbs unless they are health or emergency workers, or are otherwise deemed “essential”.

The state recorded 136 new locally acquired cases of the virus in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday, from a record near-87,000 tests, as well as the death of an 89-year-old man.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the tougher rules on Thursday morning after a crisis cabinet meeting.

The affected suburbs are Cumberland, Maryland, Greystanes, Guildford, Pendle Hill, Girraween, Seven Hills and Blacktown.

The Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool and Fairfield local government areas also remain in a strict lockdown.

NEW RULES AS OUTBREAK SPREADS

• If you live in Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Blacktown or the Cumberland local government areas you cannot leave the local government area that you live in for work unless you are an authorised worker.
• Authorised workers include healthcare workers, emergency services workers and people who work in some areas of manufacturing. The full list of authorised workers can be found on the NSW government website.
  
• Health and aged care workers who live in the Canterbury Bankstown LGA will have to undergo surveillance testing every 72 hours, in line with rules already in place in Fairfield.
• People living in the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA can only work in health or aged care outside of the area if they have been tested for COVID-19 in the previous 72 hours.
• These workers include all those who work in aged care facilities and those who provide health services or ancillary or support services, including cleaners, cooks, and security providers.

The Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney, particularly in the western and southwestern suburbs is now considered a national emergency, Ms Berejiklian said.

She said government officials would be contacting community leaders in the affected areas to help residents understand the new rules.

Ms Berejiklian flagged there would be additional government support for these communities, though it is yet to be finalised.

“We will also be considering over the weekend and early next week measures to provide you support in different ways,” she said.

“I cannot stress enough that we will be redoubling our efforts to think innovatively and outside the box as to how we can get direct support to people on the ground in those communities.”

NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said she wanted to see the vaccination effort “refocused” on the affected LGAs, which she said were home to a younger than average population and had many residents working in essential services.

“They are doing critical food production, critical work, to keep society functioning, and we are seeing cases introduced the virus into various workplaces,” she said.

“Can I just say, my heart goes out to the people in the southwest of Sydney and Western Sydney, the impact this virus is having on them.”

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New Sydney areas locked out as Covid-19 spreads west - NEWS.com.au
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