NSW Health have just announced that in order to protect the people of NSW from the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, new restrictions will be introduced for all of regional NSW, effective from 5pm tonight until 12.01am Sunday 22 August 2021.
Following updated health advice from NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant, stay-at-home orders will apply to all people who live in regional NSW. This means the whole of New South Wales will be under stay at home restrictions from 5pm today.
This new order will replace any existing orders in regional NSW.
Everyone must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave. They also cannot have visitors in their home from outside their household, including family and friends.
People still can have one visitor at one time to fulfil carers’ responsibilities or provide care or assistance, or for compassionate reasons, including where two people are in a relationship but do not live together.
All hospitality venues must be closed to the public, including pubs, restaurants and cafes, except for takeaway.
Retail premises are required to close except for:
- supermarkets and grocery shops,
- shops that predominantly sell food or drinks eg butchers, bakeries, fruit shops and delicatessens, but does not include restaurants or cafes.
- chemists and pharmacies,
- kiosks
- shops that predominately sell office supplies, pet supplies, newspapers, magazines and stationery, alcohol, maternity and baby supplies, medical or pharmaceutical supplies
- food and drink premises, but only to sell takeaway
- cellar door premises, but only to sell takeaway
- hardware and building supplies
- landscaping material supplies
- rural supplies
- timber yards
- garden centres and plant nurseries,
- vehicle hire premises, not including the premises at which vehicles are sold,
- shops that predominately carry out mobile phone repairs.
Service stations, banks, post offices, laundromats and drycleaners can remain open.
Anyone who leaves their home must carry a mask with them at all times. They must be worn when working outdoors, by all school staff, by all people in outdoor markets, outdoor shopping strips, and in an outdoor queues waiting for products such as coffee and food.
Every employer across NSW must require their employees to work from home unless it is not reasonably practicable.
It is a reasonable excuse to leave your home for work – but only if it is not practicable to work from home.
There will be a one-day ‘grace period’ for planned weddings and funerals in the regional areas that have not already been subject to a lockdown. Those events may go ahead until 12.01am on Monday 16 August 2021, but only with guests from areas that have not already been subject to a lockdown. From Monday, small funerals and memorial services of 10 persons only (excluding the persons conducting the service) will be permitted.
NSW Health urges people to continue to present for testing with even the mildest of cold-like symptoms.
There are more than 440 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week. To find your nearest testing clinic, visit our website
Special rules remain in place for the affected local government areas in Greater Sydney.
For further information, please see nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules.
Recent stories, information and updates regarding COVID-19
Eighteen schools in the Northern Rivers division of Richmond have received $25,000 each as part of the federal government’s School Upgrade Fund, Labor Member for Richmond Justine Elliot said last week. COVID-19 reversed earlier trends toward longer life expectancies. During the pandemic, life expectancies globally dropped by 1.6 years according to a new study published in the Lancet medical journal. Let’s not forget that Covid-19 is still a big issue in our community with 31,935 cases reported across Australia in the last week – an average of 4,562 cases per day. The Global Carbon Budget is about to be refreshed, giving the world a critical insight into how efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are (or are not) progressing. Masks will no longer be mandatory on public transport from tomorrow, Wednesday 21 September. SW Police are urging festival-goers at this weekend’s music festival to celebrate in a safe and responsible manner, whilst also being aware of COVID-Safety measures. The Northern NSW Local Health District reports that to 4pm yesterday, Sunday May 22, there were 40 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with one of these in ICU. The AEC says that voters who have recently tested positive for COVID-19 will be able to phone in their vote in the federal election. The Northern NSW Local Health District says that to 4pm yesterday, 15 May, 384 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the District, including 82 positive PCR tests and 302 positive rapid antigen tests. Volunteering Australia says volleys are the backbone of the country in times of crisis and emergency.Fresh air federal funds for Northern Rivers schools in need
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yes of course… NSW Health have just announced that in order to protect the people of NSW from an alleged virus with a 99.997% survival rate and perpetuate their pandemic fraud they will destroy as many lives and businesses as they can and induce as much suicide as possible…
Way too late; the horse has bolted. The Morrison-annointed ‘gold-standard’ Berejiklian government, too arrogant and smug to learn from the Victorian experience last year, has bungled this whole outbreak. Because of its failure to act hard and early, when Bondi first had cases, Delta has spread across Sydney, to other states, and into the NSW regions. The consequences for the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of across the nation will be enormous.
The tragedy is, this didn’t have to happen; and the blame rests fairly and squarely with Berejiklian and her inept team.
And the PM and cabinet for peddling the gold standard BS. Reprehensible!
Since they couldn’t find any brains in the politicians heads,they looked in the sewage and the fragments of so called covid they found was really just the shit that was in their head instead of brains…yes that could be dangerous to the population 😢
I wonder if those who died recently are on the conscience of our ridiculous leader.
Nothing but Covid19. What has happened to the news? We are people not a virus. Something else out there to report?