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Residents of Greater Sydney and surrounds are bracing for more COVID-19 cases on the first day of a two-week lockdown.
Premier Gladys Berejikilian ordered the lockdown of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong on Saturday.
Residents are only allowed to leave home for work that can't be done at home, to shop for essential items, for exercise, to seek medical care or for caregiving or compassionate reasons.
The Australian Retailers Association estimates the loss in retail trade during the lockdown will reach $2 billion.
The lockdown order followed news that COVID-19 case numbers in the so-called Bondi cluster swelled by 12 to 80.
There are 73 close contact exposure sites across the eastern suburbs, inner west, northern beaches, the north and greater western Sydney.
There are also 108 sites where people who have visited are considered 'casual contacts'.
NSW Health has issued an alert for passengers who travelled on five Virgin flights to and from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, and the Gold Coast on Friday and Saturday after a flight attendant tested positive to the virus.
Details of the flights can be found on the NSW Health website and all passengers are asked to get tested and isolate, following news the crew member could have been infectious at the time.
Ms Berejiklian has warned people that virus case numbers will climb in coming days.
"We should brace ourselves because the contact tracers have done such a good job in identifying potential cases and their close contacts ... we know that the numbers will go up the next few days," she said on Saturday.
Anyone in NSW who has been to Greater Sydney since June 21 is also being asked to stay at home for the lockdown period.
Exercise outdoors is allowed in groups of up to 10, and COVID-safe funerals can proceed with up to 100 people.
Weddings are allowed on Sunday with restrictions in place, but must be cancelled from Monday.
Ms Berejiklian urged people to abide by rules, saying police "will not be afraid to throw the book at anybody who does the wrong thing".
Health Minister Brad Hazzard warned people not to try to flee the lockdown areas either.
"If a police officer detects that you're there, and there's say five people in the car, that's potentially, if he decides you're going to court: $11,000 times five, a maximum fine (of) $55,000," Mr Hazzard said.
The premier urged people not to panic buy, or stress about money with shops to remain open and financial assistance to be available.
"It's never easy when all of us have to face these circumstances, but we're all in the same situation," she said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says special payments of $500 per week will kick in on Thursday for eligible people impacted by the lockdown.
"This pandemic, sadly, is still raging all around the world, and from time to time it will have its impact here in Australia," he said in a Facebook video message.
"Australians are working very hard around the clock in so many areas to ensure Australia is protected."
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Hundreds of aircraft passengers travelling along Australia's east coast could have been exposed to COVID-19 after a flight attendant tested positive to the virus.
Five Virgin Australia flights on Friday and Saturday took passengers either to or from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.
"All passengers on flights the crew member operated will be contacted by health authorities and advised on the correct protocol," the airline said in a statement overnight, confirming the flight attendant is in isolation.
NSW Health reported the five flights are of concern as the crew member may have been infectious at the time.
Millions of NSW residents are in the first day of a fortnight-long lockdown, which has sparked travel restrictions across Australia.
Resident of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong must stay at home until at least July 9 after the number of COVID-19 cases in the harbour city swelled by 12 to 80 on Saturday.
"Even though we don't want to impose burdens, unless we absolutely have to, unfortunately, this is a situation where we absolutely had to," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
"A few days ago I said this was the scariest time that I felt since the pandemic started and that's proven to be the case."
She warned people to brace for more cases in coming days, but not to be afraid.
Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the lockdown was a result of a slow vaccine rollout.
"While the world is opening up, Australia is locking down," he tweeted.
"And it's because Scott Morrison didn't order enough vaccines."
Prime Minister Morrison, who's quarantining after travelling to the UK for the G7 summit, said there was "no absolute guarantee" against the virus.
"Australia has been able to save lives and save livelihoods and suppress this virus more successfully than almost any other country in the world," he said.
"But that doesn't mean there's any absolute guarantee against this insidious virus.
"This is a truly global pandemic, and it will continue to seek to have its impact wherever and whenever it wants."
Fears the contagious Delta COVID variant could spread from Greater Sydney have left NSW and Australia isolated.
New Zealand has paused a quarantine-free trans-Tasman bubble until at least Tuesday.
The Queensland and Victorian governments are urging residents against travel to NSW. They're also warning people who have been in hotspots not to cross their borders.
Tasmania closed its border to regions affected by the lockdown, while South Australia and Western Australia have reintroduced a "hard border" with all of NSW.
In the Northern Territory, a fresh positive case in a mine worker at a site 540km northwest of Alice Springs has caused it to shut down and forced hundreds of workers into isolation.
More than 1600 people in three states have been ordered into isolation after he tested positive to the coronavirus at the Newmont-owned Granites gold mine in the Tanami desert.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said his state could use more vaccines.
But he added that with four million virus deaths worldwide it was understandable that high global demand was causing supply issues.
"It's probably as bad as it's ever been with the various variants that are now floating around," Mr Hazard said.
Two thirds of staff working in aged care homes across Australia are reported to remain unvaccinated.
The vaccination rate would have to increase significantly to complete the program by the end of the year.
Australia has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which would cover the entire adult population.
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Darwin is Australia's latest centre to be plunged into COVID-19 lockdown as the fallout from a positive miner case remains unknown.
The Northern Territory on Sunday reported four new diagnoses, with the government imposing a 48-hour lockdown for the capital city and some surrounding areas.
In NSW there are 30 more locally acquired coronavirus cases, all linked to the Bondi outbreak.
Health authorities are continuing to track hundreds of passengers from five Virgin flights on Friday and Saturday which carried people between Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.
The alert was raised after a Sydney-based flight attendant tested positive to COVID, and was possibly infectious on Friday and Saturday.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the crew member did not have any symptoms when working those shifts and was unaware of having been a close contact of a worker at Sydney's Marrickville Great Ocean Foods, which has been identified as a transmission hotspot.
The Great Oceans Foods cluster has grown to 11.
"We have texted from the manifest people who have been on those flights, but in case they were text messages that did not get received, I am alerting everyone in the community to check the website and ask them to immediately isolate and get tested," she said on Sunday.
Millions of NSW residents are in the first day of a fortnight-long lockdown, and Premier Gladys Berejiklian praised the early behaviour.
"The anecdotal evidence we have today is that people have been compliant and we are deeply grateful for that," she said.
"I'm convinced if we pull together, we will start seeing the results we want to achieve over the next two weeks."
Resident of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong must stay at home until at least July 9.
The NT situation was sparked by the positive case of a mine worker at the Newmont-owned Granites gold mine in the Tanami desert, some 540km northwest of Alice Springs.
More than 1600 people in three states have been ordered into isolation after he tested positive.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the worker was on a flight to Darwin with 80 other people. There are more than 200 other workers who flew from the mine to Darwin and authorities are still to contact with about 20 of them.
Queensland has reported two new local cases, with both people believed to have been active in Brisbane for several days.
An updated list of possible transmission sites has been released on the Queensland Heath website.
Western Australia reported one new COVID case and subsequently ramped up travel restrictions and density limits.
"We always consider going further," a government spokesman said.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Saturday remained confident about the nation's measures to combat the virus, despite ongoing questions about the speed of the federal government's vaccination scheme.
"Australia has been able to save lives and save livelihoods and suppress this virus more successfully than almost any other country in the world," he said.
"But that doesn't mean there's any absolute guarantee against this insidious virus."
Australia has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which would cover the entire adult population.
Amid fears the contagious Delta COVID variant could spread from Greater Sydney, New Zealand has paused a quarantine-free trans-Tasman bubble until at least Tuesday.
Most Australian states and territories have imposed travel restrictions and are telling residents not to travel to NSW.
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Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt admits it is a challenging day for Australia as NSW reported 30 new COVID-19 cases, Darwin went into an immediate 48-hour lockdown and Western Australia reimposed restrictions.
The Northern Territory on Sunday reported four new diagnoses, with the government imposing a 48-hour lockdown for the capital city and some surrounding areas, which followed a positive case of a local miner.
In NSW, total cases have ballooned to 110 after entering into a 14-day lockdown in Greater Sydney area and other areas.
In WA, a woman who visited Sydney and returned home also picked up the virus, prompting increased restrictions including mask wearing indoors.
"I know today is a challenging day for Australians," Mr Hunt told reporters in Melbourne on Sunday.
"We've done this before, we know how to do it. And we will get through it."
He reminded Australians this is a global pandemic, noting that in the UK alone there were 18,000 new cases reported overnight.
Health authorities are continuing to track hundreds of passengers from five Virgin flights on Friday and Saturday which carried people between Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.
The alert was raised after a Sydney-based flight attendant tested positive to COVID, and was possibly infectious on Friday and Saturday.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the crew member did not have any symptoms when working those shifts and was unaware of having been a close contact of a worker at Sydney's Marrickville Great Ocean Foods, which has been identified as a transmission hotspot.
The Great Oceans Foods cluster has grown to 11.
"We have texted from the manifest people who have been on those flights, but in case they were text messages that did not get received, I am alerting everyone in the community to check the website and ask them to immediately isolate and get tested," she said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian praised the early behaviour millions of NSW residents after entering the 14-day lockdown.
"The anecdotal evidence we have today is that people have been compliant and we are deeply grateful for that," she said.
The NT situation was sparked by the positive case of a mine worker at the Newmont-owned Granites gold mine in the Tanami desert, some 540km northwest of Alice Springs.
More than 1600 people in three states have been ordered into isolation after he tested positive.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the worker was on a flight to Darwin with 80 other people. There are more than 200 other workers who flew from the mine to Darwin and authorities are still to contact about 20 of them.
Queensland has reported two new local cases, with both people believed to have been active in Brisbane for several days.
An updated list of possible transmission sites has been released on the Queensland Heath website.
Amid fears the contagious Delta COVID variant could spread from Greater Sydney, New Zealand has paused a quarantine-free trans-Tasman bubble until at least Tuesday.
"We understand and respect that and regard that is reasonable under the circumstances," Mr Hunt said.
Most Australian states and territories have imposed travel restrictions and are telling residents not to travel to NSW.
© AAP 2021
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