NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has announced new COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, after revealing that the state had recorded 642 new cases and four further deaths in the past 24 hours.
The Premier said the Greater Sydney lockdown would be extended until the end of September.
The Central Coast and Shellharbour regions, however, will now be classified as regional NSW, so those areas will be included in the statewide lockdown that is due to expire on August 28.
Ms Berejiklian also announced that face masks must be worn outdoors everywhere in NSW, except when exercising.
“Our concern is that when people are walking past a group of people or accidentally bumping into people that, that can cause that fleeting contact can cause transmission,” the Premier said.
The Premier said a 9pm to 5am curfew would also be introduced for local government areas of concern.
“People in these areas will also only be allowed to exercise outside their home for an hour a day,” the Premier said.
There were four deaths recorded in the past 24 hours – a woman in her 80s who was a resident at Wyoming aged care home; a man in his 80s at Nepean Hospital, a woman in her 80s from south-west Sydney and a man in his 70s at St George Hospital.
Chief Health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant confirmed that 80 residents were currently in intensive care wards – with “the majority” unvaccinated against the virus.
More than 132,000 COVID-19 vaccinations were administered across the state on Thursday.
