Due to concerning outbreaks in regional NSW, including among vulnerable First Nations communities in the state's far west, the seven-day lockdown of NSW outside of Greater Sydney will now be extended for another week, until “at least August 28”, premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced. It is likely that the statewide stay-at-home orders will be extended beyond this date.
The state set another new record for daily cases on August 19, with 681 cases of community transmission diagnosed in the 24-hour reporting period between August 17-18. Some 167 cases have now been confirmed to date in Western NSW, where First Nations communities are particularly at risk.
The premier has said that vaccination targets will now dictate when lockdown measures can begin easing. The first target is 6 million jabs, at which point certain activities may be permitted for fully vaccinated people. The state has reached 5.5 million jabs and has acquired more than half a million doses of Pfizer specifically for the hotspot LGAs in Sydney’s west and southwest. To date, 53 per cent of eligible adults in NSW have had a single dose, and 28 per cent are fully vaccinated.