Has the worm turned? Ben Fordham unleashes on NSW's punishing lockdown and says someone needs to have courage to say: 'the damage now is WORSE than from the virus'
- Ben Fordham slams NSW government for handling of ongoing lockdowns
- 2GB radio host says long term financial damage outweighs impact of virus
- NSW recorded 78 new cases overnight including 27 infectious in community
- Premier Berejiklin says community number needs to be 0 to end lockdown
Ben Fordham has lashed out at the New South Wales government's handling of Sydney's ongoing lockdown, saying the 'social and economic consequences are dwarfing the damage of the virus'.
The 2GB radio host criticised Premier Gladys Berejiklian's continued stance that the state will not open up again until community transmissions have disappeared.
NSW recorded 78 new Covid-19 cases overnight - but 27 were still out in the community while infectious.
'We are seeing very little change in the daily case numbers. They want us to focus on the number of people who are infectious while in the community. We're not really making a dent on that number,' Fordham said on Tuesday morning.
'And yet the government reckons that that number needs to be close to zero before we can open up. Come off it. How're we going to get there?
'And at what point do we start showing some courage? Right now the social and economic consequences of the lockdowns are dwarfing the damage of the virus.'
Ben Fordham has lashed out at the NSW government's handling of Sydney's ongoing lockdown, saying 'social and economic consequences are dwarfing the damage of the virus'
The 2GB radio host criticised Premier Gladys Berejiklian's continued stance the state will not open up again until community transfers have disappeared
Sydney is enduring its tightest restrictions since the pandemic began in March last year, with even tradies unable to work.
Fordham says while cases remain high, hospitalisations are low and the long term effects the lockdown is having will cause more problems than opening.
'We have the harshest restrictions of any state since coronavirus arrived. Kids aren't at school, small businesses are on their knees, if you live in Fairfield, Liverpool or Canterbury, you cannot leave the area for work unless you are an authorised worker,' Fordham said.
'And now more than a quarter of a million construction workers and tradies are out of a job. It's never happened anywhere in Australia. They didn't even do it in Victoria, during their darkest days … This cannot go on.'
During the stage 4 lockdown in Victoria last year, which lasted 112 days, tradies were able to work throughout with sensible Covid-safe practices in place.
Tradies are unable to work in the Greater Sydney area but are also unable to travel into regional New South Wales.
'Locked up again, no end in sight, and I'm not for a moment suggesting coronavirus is not serious… but at what point as a society do we accept this is not going away? Can we really stay locked up until it disappears?' Fordham said.
'The Premier said a few months ago: ''We need to learn to live with the virus''. But right now we're destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of people as we try to chase a number that we may never, ever reach.
'Why don't we get fair dinkum and work towards the Premier's goal of learning to live with the virus.'
Sydney currently sits in its tightest restrictions since the pandemic began in March last year, with even tradies unable to work in its current state
NSW recorded 78 new Covid-19 cases overnight - but 27 were still out in the community while infectious
Premier Berejiklian on Tuesday announced the new figures as she warned residents in the hotspot Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown and Fairfield local government areas they could be carrying the virus even if they have no symptoms.
She said more than two-thirds of the state's new cases were still being found in those three regions.
Officials also confirmed a woman in her 50s had died from Covid-19 in Sydney's south-west; she is the mother of two removalists who travelled to regional NSW while infected with the virus.
Of the 49 linked cases, 45 are household contacts and 4 are close contacts.
The 78 positive results in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday night came from 62,860 tests. NSW Health said 29 of the new infections have yet to be linked to known cases.
The outbreak of infections that began in Sydney's eastern suburbs on June 16 has now reached 1,418 infections.
Greater Sydney is enduring its fourth week of strict stay-at-home lockdown restrictions to slow the spread of the highly-contagious Delta variant.
'If you are living in a community that has a lot of cases, even if you don't have symptoms, don't assume you don't have the virus,' Ms Berejiklian said.
'In communities where the virus is lurking, where the virus is circulating, you could have the virus, not know it and unfortunately take it home and give it to your loved ones.'
