With no positive cases of COVID-19 recorded in the Byron Shire or the Northern Rivers area for almost a month, Byron Shire Mayor, Michael Lyon, today asked the NSW Government to lift the lockdown in the region on 11 September.
"The only cases in the region were the three family members who allegedly travelled from Sydney at the end of July, and I know I speak for our everyone in our community when I say that I am grateful there have been no other infections in the area," Mayor Lyon said.
"The great majority of people have been doing the right thing and that is backed up by the fact that there have been no new cases and very random traces of COVID detected in our sewage," he said.
"The sewage detections, while an indicator of COVID-19, could also be someone who has passed through the area or who had the virus and it is still showing up a long time after they were infected.
"I understand the enormity of the problems being faced by the NSW Government and understand the need for lockdowns, but I do think that the absence of COVID-19 in our region for a sustained period is a good reason for the local lockdown to be lifted.
"We have the added problem in the Northern Rivers with the strict border controls imposed by the Queensland Government and a lift in the lockdown would be a signal to them that we are COVID-free.
"That might prompt an easing of some restrictions so the cross-border communities can move more freely, so people can get easier access to the specialist medical treatment they need, so people can get back to work and see loved ones," Mayor Lyon said.
"It will also allow people in the Northern Rivers region to move a little more freely between our different council areas," he said.
