Here’s What Gladys Berejiklian Said When Asked About A Potential NSW Lockdown Today

NSW isn’t heading back into lockdown just yet, but given the increasing number of daily cases, it’s not outside the realms of possibility, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

In case you missed the news this morning, the Bondi cluster has now grown to 21 people. The face mask rule – which until now only impacted certain council areas, and was due to be lifted tomorrow at midnight – has been extended for another week, and now applies to the entire Greater Sydney area, including Wollongong.

However, as all but one of the 10 new cases on Tuesday were linked to existing cases, Berejiklian said a lockdown isn’t as yet required.

“That gives us a degree of confidence that what we have asked people to do matches the risk that is there,” she said at a presser on Tuesday.

“If that changes, if we suddenly have a number of unlinked cases and if we suddenly have them outside the geographic region they are concentrated in, that will obviously adjust the health advice and we will respond to that.

“At this stage, given Dr [Kerry] Chant did advise us already that she foresaw that household contacts would get the virus, and I think this demonstrates how important it is to isolate when you are asked to isolate.”

Five new cases were announced today, with a further seven recorded post 8pm last night (and will be officially included in tomorrow’s numbers).

Of the five, the two announced yesterday were both close contacts of previously reported cases and have both been in isolation. They are:

Of the three more announced today, two are close contacts of previously reported cases and have also been in isolation. They are:

However, one of the three cases – a woman in her 20s from Sydney’s eastern suburbs – was not a close contact of a previously reported case, and investigations are underway.

“She is a worker at Bondi Junction and we believe she was exposed again, probably through fleeting contact with one of the infectious people as they moved around Bondi Junction,” Dr Chant said.

Anyone who visited Bondi Junction Westfield, including the carpark, between June 12 and June 18 is being urged to get tested. However, unless you have symptoms or have been to a specific venue of concern, you don’t need to isolate.

In terms of a potential NSW lockdown – keep an eye on new case numbers and whether they’re linked to known cases. If the numbers go down and/or they’re all linked to cases and already in isolation, we can hopefully avoid a full-blown lockdown. If the numbers go up, and particularly if the link is unknown, then we might be looking at a circuit breaker situation.

Of the seven new cases recorded overnight, six were household contacts of previous cases who have been in isolation. The last case is a student at St Charles Catholic Primary School in Waverley.

“We anticipate in coming days at those in isolation with a household contact are likely to develop the disease given how contagious it is,” Berejiklian said.

Image: Nine News