NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on July 23 that Sydney’s outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant was now considered a “national emergency”, adding that the NSW government would be appealing to Canberra to “recalibrate” the sluggish vaccine rollout, which according to prime minister Scott Morrison is currently two months behind schedule.
Despite the Greater Sydney region being under lockdown for four weeks, with the strictest lockdown rules ever implemented in NSW currently in effect, cases continue to rise. In the 24-hour reporting period between July 21-22, from more than 87,000 tests – a new daily record in NSW – 136 cases of community transmission were detected, with at least 53 cases infectious in the community.
While the premier did not officially announce an extension to the lockdown, she echoed comments in recent days that there was little likelihood that restrictions would be lifted on July 31 as planned. Berejiklian suggested that Greater Sydney could be under some level of lockdown until October, when vaccinations in NSW will reach a level that could allow Sydneysiders to live “as freely and safely as possible.” The premier added that the state government would be unveiling a roadmap out of lockdown next week, which would likely be phased across the next three months.
The epicentre of the outbreak in southwestern Sydney, largely located in Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool, has spread west, with cases on the rise now in Cumberland and Blacktown. NSW chief medical officer Kerry Chant said that the state had requested an emergency mass vaccination program within these hotspot areas of Sydney. The majority of cases are being diagnosed in people aged under 40, who are currently ineligible to be vaccinated by the preferred Pfizer vaccine. Chant said that she would be making a request for Pfizer doses to be urgently redirected to this mass-vaccination programme.
To address the spiralling crisis the state has also announced further restrictions. Anyone living in the LGAs of Cumberland and Blacktown will now be under the same restrictions as Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool, with residents in these areas only be allowed to leave for “authorised work”.
Chant and Berejiklian also appealed to “anyone” in Sydney to get the AstraZeneca vaccination. Chant said it was vital to “correct the mythology” about the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has been tarnished by inflated warnings about a rare blood clotting risk, which Chant described as “infinitesimally small".
“Given the Delta strain, I do not understand how people are not coming out in their droves to get the AstraZeneca vaccine,” Chant said. The AstraZeneca vaccine is synthesised in Australia and is easily accessible, whereas the Pfizer vaccine is imported and is in very limited supply in Australia.