07.07.2021
2 min read

Sydney’s Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown LGAs identified as new COVID focus

Residents have been asked not to ‘mingle’, even with family members.

Sydney lockdown extended by another week

Residents of three large areas of southwest Sydney have been asked not to “mingle” as they were warned it was “crunch time” for them in eliminating the spread of COVID-19.

Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown have been identified as the new “focus” for health officials, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed on Wednesday that Greater Sydney will be in lockdown for another week after reporting 27 new COVID cases.

She said people in those areas must “limit your movement”.

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“We have seen overnight some concerning statistics on what is happening in the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool council areas,” Berejiklian said.

“Can I say to the communities in those areas, many have a similar background to me, please don’t mingle with family.

A drive-through COVID testing clinic in Fairfield in Sydney on Wednesday. Credit: 7NEWS

“I haven’t seen my parents since the lockdown started. It is hard.

“Can I say to everybody, don’t mingle with family, don’t think it is OK to visit your cousins or have sleepovers.

“You might think you are doing the right thing by visiting a loved one, you might think you are doing the right thing by babysitting other children or whatever, but the key message in the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool local government areas is please do not leave the house.”

Berejiklian said the south west had emerged as the area of greatest concern while “pretty much all” of cases in Sydney’s south east were being detected while they are in isolation.

Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said patients in the south west had been infecting their household contacts before their infections were detected.

“The concern we’ve got though, which is reflected in the numbers of the people that are infectious in the community, is the fact that by the time we get to those household cases, the rest of the household is already infected,” Chant said.

“Please continue to work with our contact tracers in providing that advice about your movements.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant. Credit: JOEL CARRETT/AAPIMAGE

“But in those communities we are asking you to just redouble your efforts. Please stay at home.

“Try and avoid any unnecessary contact with other additional households and please limit your movements into any indoor environments.

“So only have one person go and get the shopping.

“This is really a crunch time for the community, where the destiny is in your hands.”

According to NSW Health, Canterbury-Bankstown has recorded 31 locally acquired COVID cases in the past four weeks, while 28 have been found in Liverpool and 25 in Fairfield.