Two areas in regional NSW will be plunged into lockdown for seven days beginning at 6pm on Friday evening.
The Glen Innes and Hilltop local government areas will be placed under under stay at home orders from Friday at 6pm, NSW Health announced.
This follows a positive Covid case in Glen Innes LGA on Thursday after an essential worker returned home from Sydney. While they are isolating at home, they were infections in the community for three days.
The NSW Chief Health Officer, Kerry Chant, and an independent panel of medical experts reviewed information relevant to the case in Glen Innes and determined a 7-day lockdown be imposed in order to protect and safeguard the community from the spread of the virus.
Everyone in these LGAs must stay at home unless it is for essential reasons.
These essential reasons include shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if you can’t work or study at home.
Residents who are fully vaccinated may gather outdoors in groups of up to five for exercise or outdoor recreation as long as everyone above the age of 16 are fully vaccinated.
Government officials are asking the community to come forward and get tested.
A strong response to testing as well as high vaccination numbers will determine whether the lockdown is extended beyond a week.
NSW Member for Northern Tablelands Adam Marshall posted an announcement about the lockdown to Facebook on Friday afternoon, saying he wanted to give residents ‘as much notice as possible’ about the impending lockdown.
‘I am very sorry and realise this was not the news many of you were wanting to hear, especially small business owners, and I fully appreciate the stress and strain this will place on you,’ he wrote.
There have been three confirmed exposure sites in Glen Innes. Anyone who attended the venues must get tested immediately and isolate until a negative test result is received.
The exposure sites are:
Kent Engineering and Mechanical, Glen Innes, on Tuesday, 14 September, from 9am to 9.10am
National Australia Bank, Glen Innes, on Tuesday, 14 September, from 10.25am to 10.35am; and
Pathology New England, Collection Centre, Glen Innes, on Tuesday, 14 September, from 9.45am to 10.15am.
More to come
Source: Daily Mail
