7-Day lockdown to start at 5pm today
5th August 2021
A seven-day Stay At Home Order will be applied to Lake Macquarie and the rest of the Hunter Region for seven days from 5pm today. This is an extension of the order which exists in Sydney and on the Central Coast. The Stay At Home Order rules are on this link (note that they don't yet identify Lake Macquarie or Newcastle, but they will shortly). In summary, only essential businesses can open, schools will only be open for the children of essential workers, and no visitors will be allowed at homes (unless providing essential care). Please don't rush supermarkets, they will remain open, but you can only shop within your council area. Rules here. More details will be provided in the coming hours, but the move follows confirmation of at least 6 cases in the Hunter Region overnight, including 1 at Morisset High, 2 at Lake Munmorah Public School, 1 at University of Newcastle, 2 at Maitland Christian College. It's believed that the local outbreak follows a gathering of people from Sydney at Blacksmiths Beach on Friday night. 
Exposure sites include Target Glendale and Stockland Glendale (Sunday 8.30am - 1.30pm) and the Auchmuty Library at University of Newcastle between 4pm last Thursday and 1am last Friday July 30. That list will be updated shortly. The numbers in Sydney today are not good. The State recorded another five deaths overnight. There were 262 new cases in total recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. This figure does not include the cases confirmed locally after 8pm. There are long lines at testing facilities. Public facilities will open late and into the weekend. I've had discussions with the Health Minister about doing the same for the private facilities at Morisset and Warners Bay and I'm expecting an announcement on that soon. Please, if you have no symptoms and have not been instructed to get tested immediately, it might be better to delay queuing for a test today. We should give priority cases access. There are 290 people currently being treated for Covid-19 in NSW hospitals, with 51 in ICU and 24 on ventilators. Contact tracing of the local cases is well under way. We'll have a better idea of the broader situation when that is done. Remember, a little bit of common sense goes a long way. Stay vigilant and please stay safe.PLEASE BE ASSURED THAT I WILL POST ANY UPDATES AS THEY HAPPEN.