The lockdown in Sydney will be extended by at least another week, as the city’s total virus cluster grew by another 27 overnight.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the extension on Wednesday morning, though media reports about the lockdown extension were published hours earlier.
“What we want to do is give our best chance of making sure this is the only lockdown we have until the vast majority of our citizens are vaccinated,” Berejiklian said.
“We appreciate and understand the stress this means for individuals, for families and, of course, businesses.”
And, despite frustrations over the state’s ‘lockdown lite’ – in which very few hard rules are in place and any business that considers itself essential can remain open, furthering the potential for contamination – the Premier did little to make sweeping changes.
She did hint at a potentially staggered exit to the lockdown, however. Berejiklian noted that the Government would, in the next few days, offer up information on what the state will look like when exiting lockdown, and what it will look like in the weeks following that exit.
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott said that she understands Berejiklian doesn’t make these decisions lightly, but that it will come at a big cost to business.
“I think the Premier has bade if very clear that the extension is about make sure that we don’t have to do this again,” Westacott said.
“Obviously, it’s an absolute imperative then that we get this vaccine rolling out as fast as possible.”
More to come.
This article was first published on Inside Retail.
