The statewide lockdown has been extended to Saturday, August 28 - the NSW government on Thursday aligning it with the date it had previously earmarked for Sydney's restrictions to ease.

The extension left many traders impacted by the restrictions, particularly those in hospitality and tourism, feeling deflated and further dismayed about how the virus got here in the first place.

"It's devastating, it's tough, it's a very different feeling to last March," said Corey Crooks, owner of Newcastle East bar, Grain Store.

"We lost about 90 per cent of our turnover overnight [when this lockdown began].

"For the last few weeks we've been trying our hardest but you feel like you're flogging a dead horse.

"We're getting rammed down our throats 'we must get vaccinated', but it's easier said than done in our area.

"It's hard to see the finishing line at the moment."

OVER COVID NEWS?

Traders the Herald spoke to yesterday had mixed views about whether a statewide extension was necessary given there were falling, or no cases, in some regions.

"It had to happen, it's at that point where it's out of control, I feel," Aaryn Algie, owner of Warners Bay cafe Hippo Espresso, said.

"They've got to do something and unfortunately that's what it is.

"The good thing is that we're still allowed to trade to a degree with takeaways and deliveries. It's definitely quieter this time; whether or not JobKeeper had something to do with that compared to what's on offer to the staff and people this time, but it's much quieter than the original [2020] lockdown."

Dominic May, like most other tourism operators, isn't able to operate at all.

His business CoastXP, which offers whale-watching tours out of Newcastle, would usually be in one of its busiest periods but has had no revenue for a fortnight.

Mr May said two weeks of lockdown was hard enough to sustain, both financially and mentally, but "the longer the lockdown happens, that's when things become more severe".

"I can see why it has been extended," he said.

"But I would rather be in lockdown until things are safe to open up if not all, than most of NSW, because it's a very difficult proposition being in tourism and only our local government area being open.

"If they start opening up one local government area at a time, then that is very hard to operate."

Mr May said his business was receiving the "lifeline" JobSaver payment, which offers the equivalent of 40 per cent of weekly payroll.

Mr Crooks, who has about 20 casual staff stood down, said the takeaway and delivery game had not proved as successful this time around. He said his market was essentially restricted to five kilometres, which "on a peninsula like Newcastle" isn't very big. Last time, he had customers visit for takeaways from further afield.

He was hopeful the Hunter wouldn't be tied to Greater Sydney and its exit from lockdown would be considered against the region's case numbers.

He said if that was the case, the Hunter could largely be in control of its own destiny and every resident had a role to play to ensure restrictions eased.

"It's very disappointing to see and hear of people trying to circumnavigate what they know the rules are," he said.

"These gatherings happening, people might think it's just them but we're going one step forward and three steps back when those sorts of things continue to happen.

"It's important to get some fresh air and for your well being, but the people that are going walking with someone different every second day, that's part of the problem. Or the people that are going. 'I'll go and visit my mum today, my brother tomorrow' ... we can all see the result of how that turned out in Sydney.

"We're at the crossroads. If we can all just knuckle down. We want to get out of this."

Business Hunter CEO Bob Hawes said the government had expressed its intent to reopen parts of regional NSW that have COVID-free stretches before next Saturday.

"The government says that the August 28 target date will be a confident milestone for lockdown lifting in much of regional NSW," he said.

"This is likely to include some Hunter LGAs which had not clocked any cases since lockdown began. There is high confidence [these] areas will ... return to some form of business as usual.

"Were hoping to hear more from the government on this early next week so that some business can prepare for reopening on the weekend of the 28th August."

IN THE NEWS

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: