NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro confirms lockdown extension as COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has confirmed that Sydney’s coronavirus lockdown will not end as scheduled this Friday.

The state recorded 112 new local COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday, of which at least 46 were out in the community for part or all of their infectious period.

Watch the interview in the video above

Speaking to Sunrise on Tuesday, Barilaro said “I don’t think we’ve hit a peak yet” and that case numbers are “still rising”.

“There is no question that this has got out of control and what we’re now doing is fighting hard, working with our community to make sure we get on top of it so we can come out of lockdown sooner rather than later,” he told Natalie Barr.

Sydney’s lockdown is expected to be extended for weeks. Credit: Getty Images

“I expect today to be the same as yesterday,” he added.

“Therefore, the Premier touched on it yesterday, we won’t be coming out of lockdown at the end of the week.”

Chevron Right Icon

‘We won’t be coming out of lockdown at the end of the week.’

The Deputy Premier went on to concede that the lockdown should have been implemented earlier, saying “hindsight is a beautiful thing.”

“If we got to rewrite history, of course you’d go down harder and earlier if you knew what was coming, but we didn’t know that.”

“We made those decisions with the advice we were given by health at the time, but what we have seen is there is mobility at the community, people are out and about, people aren’t adhering to the strict restrictions and that’s not not helping the cause.”

However, when quizzed over why stores like IKEA, lingerie and make-up retailers were allowed to continue operating during the lockdown, Barilaro stood firm.

“What we’ve never done in 18 months is pick what is essential or not,” he told Barr.

“The dishwasher might break down, the electric blankets might need replacing, so we don’t choose or pick what is essential because everyone has different needs at different times

“This is the same sort of level and balanced approach that we’ve had over the past 18 months.”

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian flagged on Monday it would be ‘almost impossible’ to leave lockdown on Friday. Credit: Mark /Getty

Barilaro’s comments come after a huge new list of venues visited by confirmed cases of COVID-19 was released by NSW Health late on Monday night.

The new list includes shopping centres, a medical practice, several bus and train routes, and supermarkets.