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New restrictions have been introduced across Greater Sydney as New South Wales struggles to contain the current COVID-19 Delta strain outbreak.
Fronting media in her daily 11am update on Saturday, 17 July, Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed a number of new restrictions aimed at reducing the spread of the virus across the region, including Sydney, the Central Coast, Wollongong, Shellharbour and the Blue Mountains.
From 12.01am on Monday, 19 July, all construction is to be paused until 11.59pm on Friday, 30 July, in line with the current end date of lockdown restrictions.
This pause also applies to non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on residential premises.
The Premier did flag that urgent maintenance or repairs would be allowed to proceed.
It comes as the state recorded 111 cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours until 8pm, 16 July 2021. Of these cases, 29 were infections within the community.
As well as the pause on construction, retail premises that are not deemed “essential” will be required to close, unless operating click-and-collect or takeaway services.
In addition, residents of the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool local government areas (LGAs) cannot leave their LGA for work — unless they are an emergency services or healthcare worker.
From 12.01am Wednesday, employers across the entire Greater Sydney region must allow employees to work from home if the employee is able to do so. The Premier flagged employers who do not abide by this could be liable to a fine of up to $10,000.
The weekend announcements come after the eviction moratorium was reinstated in New South Wales last week, with landlords additionally incentivised to provide rent relief to COVID-19-affected tenants.
In Greater Sydney, real estate agents are allowed to undertake one-on-one inspections of property according to the current restrictions, but all auctions must take place online.
The new restrictions come as Victoria soldiers through a five-day, state-wide, circuit-breaker lockdown, which provides residents with five reasons to leave their home. Those reasons are:
- Shopping for necessary goods and services
- Care and caregiving
- Exercise
- Authorised work
- To get a COVID-19 vaccine
Under the Victorian restrictions, inspections are not allowed. Auctions may only operate remotely, with agents to also work remotely. Real estate services must operate in accordance with the authorised provider and authorised worker list available on the Victorian government website.
UPDATE: In Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ daily press briefing on Monday, 19 July, he conceded that lockdown would not end as proposed at 11.59pm Tuesday, 20 July, as hoped. A new and updated timeframe for current restrictions is likely to be released “as early as possible tomorrow [20 July]”.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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