Why Sydney is going straight into a 14-day lockdown instead of a three-day 'circuit breaker' – after Gladys Berejiklian held off shutting down the city to try and contain Covid outbreak

NSW Premier put Greater Sydney into a 14-day lockdown from 6pm Saturday
Strict new stay-at-home public health order is due to end at midnight on July 9
If case numbers fall NSW Health officials will consider loosening restrictions
Gladys Berejiklian said the measures needed to halt community transmission
Delta strain of coronavirus said to be far stronger than previous Covid versions

By Peter Vincent For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 07:34 BST, 26 June 2021 | Updated: 07:34 BST, 26 June 2021

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Gladys Berejiklian put Sydney into a 14-day lockdown instead of the short, sharp 'circuit-breaker' lockdowns seen elsewhere because of the highly transmissible nature of the virus circulating now.

From 6pm Saturday everyone between Wollongong, the Blue Mountains, all 658 Sydney suburbs and the Central Coast is required to stay at home, including for work - unless they have one of four reasons to leave.

The reasons include essential work, to seek medical care, shopping for essential goods and services and to exercise in groups not exceeding ten people.

Exercise in groups of less than 10 is one of the few reasons Sydneysiders have to leave home for the next 14 days. But why was the tough lockdown needed instead of a short sharp 'circuit-breaker' lockdown?

On Saturday New South Wales' Premier Gladys Berejiklian plunged Sydney into a full 14-day lockdown instead of the short, sharp 'circuit-breaker' lockdowns we have seen elsewhere in Australia. The reason? A three day lockdown won't work against the Delta variant, she said

Ms Berejiklian said short lockdowns - seen in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia in recent months - would not work in Sydney because the Delta variant's potential for spreading more than previous versions.

'If we're going to do this, we need to do it properly,' she said.

'There's no point doing a three-day lockdown and then having the virus continue to bubble away in the community.'

The Delta strain - previously known as the Indian variant - is far more infectious than the original virus that swept across the world last year and can be passed between people via nothing more than fleeting contact.

In the United States, Andy Slavitt, former White House senior adviser for the American Covid-19 response, described as 'Covid on steroids'.

The new restrictions are in place until midnight, Friday July 9.

The news came after 12 new Covid-19 infections which were recorded on Saturday, fuelling fears the growing cluster of cases could wreak havoc across the city.

In all, NSW has 82 locally-acquired Covid cases.

Ms Berejiklian said the tough new restrictions could be reviewed after seven days, and new restrictions considered, but only if there was 'a dramatic change in the trend'.

The reason for the dramatic move is to try and 'stay ahead' of the Delta variant and get back to having no community spread of the virus.

'At this stage, the best health advice we have is that a two-week period or until midnight on Friday, July 9, is necessary, in order to make sure that we get to our target of zero community transmission, which has always been our target from the beginning of the pandemic.'

'Given how transmissible the virus is, given the extra exposure venues, we know that even the best contact tracers in the world can't stay a step ahead unless we put this in and we need to do it properly.'

In Western Australia Anzac Day services were cancelled for the Perth and Peel regions when a three-day lockdown was called after just two Covid cases were confirmed.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said zero community transmissions is the goal and the only way to get there is to 'do this properly'

Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant at Saturday's announcement of a 14 day lockdown for Greater Sydney

Private gatherings are banned, gyms and nightclubs were closed and face masks were mandatory - even at outdoor sports events.

Brisbane was placed in a three-down lockdown that ended just in time for the Easter Long Weekend after a Covid cluster of 12 cases resulted from a bachelorette party in Byron Bay.

Cafes and restaurants were closed and masks were compulsory indoors - including in workplaces - and on public transport.

In November 2020, South Australia endured a tough six-day lockdown after Adelaide's Parafield cluster of 23 cases.

Adelaide schools closed along with universities, factories, pubs, cafes, food courts and even takeaway food outlets shut.

Weddings, funeral and outdoor sports was also banned.

Regional travel was banned and nobody could visit aged care facilities.

SYDNEY'S LOCKDOWN: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW UNTIL JULY 9

*Applies to people living in greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong

*The four reasons you can leave your home:

Shopping for food or other essential goods and services

Medical care or compassionate needs (including to get a COVID-19 vaccine)

Exercise outdoors in groups of 10 or fewer

Essential work, or education, where you cannot work or study from home

The rest of NSW (including regional areas) will be subject to the following restrictions:

No more than five visitors (including children) allowed in homes

Masks are compulsory in all indoor non-residential settings

The four-square-metre rule is back for indoor and outdoor settings and drinking while standing at indoor venues is not allowed

Dancing will not be allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs, but dancing is allowed at weddings for the wedding party (no more than 20 people)