NSW recorded its highest daily figures in more than a year in the period between 8pm on July 7 and 8pm on July 8, with 44 new cases of community transmission, 29 of which were infectious in the community.
In response, premier Gladys Berejiklian has issue even stricter lockdown orders for Greater Sydney in addition to existing rules, effective immediately.
- Only one person per household should be shopping for essential goods. Browsing in a shop or shopping for non-essential goods is not permitted.
- People may only engaging in outdoor recreation or exercise in groups of two – it had previously been a group of ten.
- You may only engage in outdoor activities and exercise in your LGA or within 10km of your home.
- Carpooling with people outside of your household is banned, although it is currently unclear if Uber journeys are still permitted.
- Funerals will be capped at a maximum of ten people.
The premier once again said that NSW would not be able to ease restrictions while the vaccination rate is so low. Currently, NSW has vaccinated just 9 per cent of the population. Berejiklian said that if restrictions were lifted with the highly transmissible Delta variant in the community it would lead to “thousands and thousands” of hospitalisations and deaths. With vaccination rates so low, Berejiklian said that the daily case rate would need to be at zero or near zero before restrictions could be eased, adding “New South Wales is facing the biggest challenge we have faced since the pandemic started, and I don’t say it lightly.
“Unless there is a dramatic change, unless there is a dramatic turnaround in the numbers, I can’t see how we would be in a position to ease restrictions by next Friday.”