Health experts say Hunter residents should be on alert for COVID-19 symptoms because Sydney people inadvertently exposed to the virus have been "in and amongst us" in the past week.
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The Hunter is yet to return a positive COVID-19 test as the list of exposure sites in Sydney grows.
Hunter New England Health public health physician David Durrheim said on Sunday that "huge queues" had formed at testing sites around the region on Saturday as Sydney entered lockdown on the eve of the school holidays and concern about the latest outbreak spread.
He said it was "really welcoming" that people were "not taking any chances" and urged anyone who had been tested to stay home until they received their results, which was usually inside 24 hours.
"We really need to be on alert that any sniffle be taken seriously," Dr Durrheim said.
He said Greater Sydney residents likely had been in the Hunter in the past week after inadvertently visiting exposure sites and before lockdowns began on Friday.
Under new restrictions announced on Saturday, Hunter residents are limited to five household guests, including children, until July 9, and mask-wearing is compulsory in all indoor, non-residential areas, including workplaces.
The restrictions include a four-square-metre social distancing guideline for all indoor and outdoor areas and limits on the number of patrons allowed at organised and ticketed events.
Anyone who has been to Greater Sydney, including the Central Coast, since June 21 must follow stay-at-home orders.
Sydney people already on holiday in the Hunter before lockdowns began can stay shut up in their accommodation or return to Sydney.
A Hunter high school ski trip stopped briefly in Sydney on the way home on June 22, raising questions about whether the students should stay home for two weeks.
Dr Durrheim said people merely in transit through Sydney did not need to stay at home. But, if the students had stopped for a 15-minute toilet break, they should get tested and isolate until they received a result.
"It's worth checking on the NSW places of concern that that particular place wasn't listed," he said. "If it was, there's clear guidance about what needs to be done."
NSW recorded 30 locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday.
Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said a man in his 30s in the "Hunter New England local government area" had tested positive as a close contact of a Northern Territory goldmine worker who had the virus.
HNEH later clarified that the positive case was in the Glen Innes area, west of Grafton, and no one in the Hunter had tested positive.
Dr Chant said the man had not been in the community while infectious and did not "present any risk to the community of NSW".
FROM EARLIER
Ms Berejiklian said on Saturday that Sydneysiders, and particularly residents of the seven local government areas at the heart of the latest outbreak, should "not set a foot" outside the city to protect regional areas from transmission.
"We do not want this virus transmission in our regions," she said. "We do not want this virus to spread beyond the suburbs and local government areas where it's particularly circulating."
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But the concern of health authorities is rapidly growing as more than half of the newly recorded cases were not in isolation during their infection period.
"What we're finding is by the time we've got to some of those cases, they've already on-transmitted," Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.
"The last thing we want to see out of this is any seeding of our rural and regional communities."
The Sydney outbreak has been linked to the Delta variant of the virus, which Health Minister Brad Hazzard described as a "very formidable foe".
"No matter what defensive steps we're taking, at the moment, the virus seems to understand how to counter-attack in different locations. That's causing us a high level of concern," he said.
"It's a formidable foe, and we're only going to beat it if we're all in this together and making sure that we just stop the spread."
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Unlike other variants, the Premier said, the Delta strain appeared to be more transmissible, particularly among household contacts.
"This is different to what we've seen before," Ms Berejiklian said, describing the unfolding outbreak as "the scariest time NSW has seen during the course of the pandemic".
At pubs and clubs in the Hunter, patrons are required to sit, and dancing is not allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs.
Dancing is allowed at weddings, however, for the wedding party only and to a maximum of 20 people.
Singing by audiences and choirs at indoor venues or by congregants at indoor places of worship is not allowed.
Dance and gym classes are limited to 20 per class with compulsory mask-wearing, and anyone who has been in the Greater Sydney region since June 21 must immediately follow the stay-at-home orders for a period of 14 days after they left the city.
"We have always indicated we will not hesitate to go further with restrictions to protect the people of NSW," NSW Health said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
"We understand this is a difficult time for everyone, however, we need to take these steps now to get on top of this outbreak."
What you need to know
Expanded lockdowns and restrictions will take effect at 6pm Saturday, June 26, and continue until 11.59pm on Friday, July 9.
Everyone in Greater Sydney must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason. Those who have visited Greater Sydney since the start of June 21 must also go into lockdown.
The reasons you may leave your home include:
- Shopping for food or other essential goods and services;
- Medical care or compassionate needs (people can leave home to have a COVID-19 vaccination unless you have been identified as a close contact);
- Exercise outdoors in groups of 10 or fewer;
- Essential work, or education, where you cannot work or study from home.
In all other parts of NSW the following restrictions will apply:
- People who have been in the Greater Sydney region (including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong) on or after June 21 should follow the stay-at-home orders for a period of 14 days after they left Greater Sydney.
- Visitors to households will be limited to 5 guests - including children;
- Masks will be compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces, and at organised outdoor events;
- Drinking while standing at indoor venues will not be allowed;
- Singing by audiences and choirs at indoor venues or by congregants at indoor places of worship will not be allowed;
- Dancing will not be allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs however, dancing is allowed at weddings for the wedding party only (no more than 20 people);
- Dance and gym classes limited to 20 per class (masks must be worn);
- The one person per four square metre rule will be re-introduced for all indoor and outdoor settings, including weddings and funerals;
- Outdoor seated, ticketed events will be limited to 50 per cent seated capacity.
Michael Parris
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
Michael Parris reports on politics for the Newcastle Herald. He started at the Herald in 1994 after working in the ABC Newcastle newsroom. Michael spent much of his career as a sub-editor before moving into political reporting in 2017. He was a finalist in the Sports Australia national media awards for his stories about a male-only tennis club in Newcastle. He has covered NSW and federal elections, state and federal budgets and local politics. He has also written extensively about the COVID-19 pandemic with a special focus on data analysis and the effects of lockdowns on the Hunter community.
