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A generous federal support package has been agreed for NSW businesses hit by Sydney's coronavirus outbreak.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian have announced JobKeeper-style payments that go above and beyond arrangements during Victoria's most recent lockdown.

"Clearly, here in NSW, the situation has taken a very different turn," Mr Morrison said in Sydney.

"We think this gives people the encouragement to see it through."

He said the support is in the national interest and will be offered to any other state or territory that experiences an extended lockdown.

From week four of a lockdown in a declared hotspot, the disaster payment will increase to $600 if a person has lost 20 or more hours of work a week, or $375 for between eight and less than 20 hours of work a week foregone.

A direct payment to businesses will go to those with an annual turnover between $75,000 and $50 million who can demonstrate a 30 per cent decline in turnover.

Not-for-profit organisations will receive between $1500 and $10,000 per week based on the level of their payroll.

For sole traders, the payment will be set at $1000 per week.

"I'm grateful for the speed with which the Commonwealth has responded to the issues we raised," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Payments will be made available across NSW, with the costs shared 50/50 between the NSW and federal governments.

There is also a $17.35 million mental health support package for NSW including for services through Lifeline, headspace and Kid's Helpline.

Mr Morrison ruled out another early access to superannuation scheme.

The NSW government will separately offer rent relief for commercial and residential tenants and payroll tax deferrals for businesses.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was humiliating for Mr Morrison to admit he was wrong on ending the JobKeeper wage subsidies.

Economists have estimated the cost of the lockdown at $1 billion a week, even with many businesses still open.

NSW reported 89 new COVID-19 infections on Tuesday, with cases nearing 800 since mid-June.

The prime minister joined community leaders on a Zoom call as the outbreak spreads into Sydney's west where language barriers are feared to have prevented the stay at home message from getting through.

"Stay at home. Get vaccinated. That's it," Mr Morrison said.

A second death was recorded from the latest outbreak, a man aged in his 70s from the eastern suburbs.

Regional NSW is also at risk, with a case confirmed at a Goulburn construction site that has now been shut down and workers sent into isolation.

With the rapid spread of the Delta variant across households, Sydney's lockdown is likely to continue beyond Friday and into at least a fourth week.

Tougher restrictions are being brought in for Sydney's southwest after a surge in infected family groups, with essential workers in the Fairfield local government area required to get a COVID test every three days.

Federal and state health authorities have also continued to urge younger people not eligible for Pfizer vaccines to talk to a doctor about getting AstraZeneca.

A national expert panel has reassessed its advice as community transmission increases but maintained its position on Tuesday on preferring the Pfizer vaccine for people under the age of 60.

But after weighing up the risks from the Delta variant, if Pfizer supplies remain unavailable then people should think about getting protection from AstraZeneca, officials said.

People in an outbreak area getting AstraZeneca are advised to cut the gap between the two required doses to four to eight weeks, not 12 weeks.

© AAP 2021

St George Illawarra players believed their illegal barbecue that breached public health orders wouldn't be a drama solely because they didn't think they'd get caught.

Ten of the Dragons' dirty dozen were read the riot act by ropeable club officials on returning to training on Monday, with Zac Lomax and Daniel Alvaro still absent after refusing to sign sworn statements.

Josh McGuire and Blake Lawrie also became the first visitors to Paul Vaughan's party to front the media on Tuesday, as other players took to social media and the Dragons website to apologise.

Lawrie claimed he never believed he was doing the wrong thing as the players were "in their own bubble", and had no hesitations going to the July 3 party.

But McGuire admitted the likes of he and Jack de Belin had let the club down as senior players.

"We did understand (what we were doing was wrong). We can't sit here and say we didn't," McGuire said.

"We were in Shellharbour which is a long way away from everything that was happening.

"The decision to go to the barbecue, everyone made. At the end of the day we just thought that there wasn't going to be a drama and we wouldn't get caught.

"We just thought if we kept it within the team it wasn't going to be a big deal and obviously it is."

The aftershocks from the Dragons' barbecue continued on Tuesday, with Matt Dufty, Tyrell Fuimaono and Kaide Ellis not named to face Manly and instead the first to serve their one-game bans.

Lomax and Alvaro will also miss that and the next two games, with the pair refusing to sign a sworn version of events of the night and therefore not able to fly into the Queensland bubble until Sunday.

It's now believed their decision is based on a fear they will be liable for any player who contracts COVID-19 if they sign the statement.

It comes after Paul Vaughan was sacked over the incident, leaving the Dragons without six players against the Sea Eagles.

Meanwhile McGuire claimed his call to Griffin the next day was one of the toughest of his career.

But he defended the players who hid in the house when police arrived.

"They were scared of repercussions of what would happen and I think it was just something like fight-or-flight mode," McGuire said.

"A few of us stood there and talked to police and a few boys didn't want to hang around."

Meanwhile Lawrie claimed he never thought what he was doing was wrong.

"If it crossed my mind I would have knocked it on the head straight away," the forward said.

"But I thought it was just a harmless get together and we're obviously seeing now how bad it's affected a lot of people.

When asked how the players could get it so wrong given that five million Sydney residents were in lockdown, Lawrie responded: "Because we're in our own bubble mate."

"We didn't think we were going to get away with it. We just thought it harmless."

© AAP 2021

Sydney's COVID-19 outbreak has breached the Victorian border again, with two members of a Melbourne family testing positive after returning home.

Victoria's COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar said three of the family of four from the City of Hume arrived on a flight from Sydney on July 4 carrying red zone permits.

The other re-entered the state by road last Thursday.

They all initially tested negative shortly after arrival but two became symptomatic and were swabbed again on Sunday, with the results coming back positive on Monday morning.

The flight has not been listed as an exposure site as the three family members tested negative two days later and all other passengers remain in isolation as fellow red zone returnees.

Authorities are also on high alert after at least one member of a three-person removalist crew who travelled through Victoria and SA from NSW tested positive for the virus.

Removalists are permitted under the border permit system.

The crew made stops at two Victorian family homes on Thursday, one in Craigieburn and the other in Maribyrnong.

The Craigieburn family had recently relocated from interstate and tested negative on Friday.

"They had very limited exposure out in the community," Mr Weimar told reporters on Monday.

"If they are positive, it will be a short window. We know their movements."

The second family of four from Maribyrnong are still in Victoria staying in temporary accommodation while awaiting a longer-term move. It is likely they will be shifted into hotel quarantine.

Contact tracers are working to establish the removalist's movements, though it is believed the infected man travelled from Sydney to Melbourne via the Hume Highway before moving on to SA.

NSW Health alerted Victoria's authorities late on Sunday night.

Mr Weimar said another of the three removalists may have also tested positive. All have returned to Sydney.

He believes the crew stayed within their cab but said their initial stories were not quite stacking up.

"It is taking us a little bit longer than we would like. We are also talking to their employer who is providing fuel cards and logbooks and various other bits and pieces," Mr Weimar said.

The fresh COVID scares come after Victoria recorded its 12th day of no locally acquired cases and the state effectively shut the border to NSW and the ACT overnight, declaring them red zones under the travel permit system.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said it was "incredibly disappointing and frustrating" Canberra was classified the same as Sydney, despite recording no community COVID-19 cases for more than a year.

But Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said the rationale behind the decision was "simple", noting the ACT is surrounded by regional NSW.

Victoria Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Michael Grainger said an extra 90 officers had been sent to the border, on top of the 260 operating there since last week.

Police are continuing to keep border travellers guessing, adopting roving patrols, pop-up checkpoints and the air wing division scanning from Mildura to Mallacoota.

Mr Grainger said only six fines had been issued out of the 28,000 people stopped at the NSW border so far.

Victorians in NSW are still allowed to enter the state but now must isolate at home for 14 days.

In addition, the Victoria-NSW "border bubble" arrangement will remain for local residents, though they must carry proof of address and stay within the bubble.

© AAP 2021