The Australian Government Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, has extended the COVID-19 Hotspot for the purposes of Commonwealth support for Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Shellharbour and Wollongong, to 30 July 2021.
Professor Kelly initially declared seven Local Government Areas in Sydney a COVID-19 hotspot for the purposes of Commonwealth support from 23 June 2021 for 7 days, with an extension announced on 25 June to end on 2 July 2021. This hotspot was widened to all LGAs in Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Shellharbour and Wollongong on 26 June 2021. The current hotspot declaration is in place until 11:59pm on 16 July 2021.
Community transmission and increasing case numbers have continued in these areas, with ongoing emergence of epidemiologically unlinked cases, and cases infectious while in the community. Accordingly, the Australian Government Chief Medical Officer has extended the Hotspot for the purposes of Commonwealth support for all LGAs in Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Shellharbour and Wollongong until 11:59pm on 30 July 2021, with further review on or before 29 July 2021.
Professor Kelly reminds the community of the increased risk of the highly transmissible Delta variant and requests that they continue to follow the directions of New South Wales Health. All people are encouraged to continue to book their COVID-19 vaccination. Getting vaccinated is considered a valid reason to leave home.
Declaring a hotspot for Commonwealth support triggers, if required:
- Provision of PPE from the National Medical Stockpile
- Actions for aged care facilities including PPE, single site workforce supplement and integration of an aged care response centre into the Public Health Emergency Operations Centre
- Assistance with contact tracing
- Asymptomatic testing via General Practice led Respiratory Clinics
- Reprioritisation of vaccine supplies
- Access to COVID-19 Disaster Payment, if eligibility criteria is met, including the state imposed lockdown runs for greater than 7 days.
