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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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Premier Gladys Berejiklian placed Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong under stay-at-home orders from 6pm Saturday until July 9.

Officially 29 local COVID-19 infections were recorded in NSW on Saturday, though 17 had been notified the day before.

The outbreak numbers 80 cases, but Ms Berejiklian has warned that number will likely rise.

Late on Saturday health authorities were scrambling to contact passengers on five flights after a Sydney-based Virgin cabin crew member tested positive to coronavirus.

The five flights on Friday and Saturday took passengers either to or from Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.

Sydney's infections continued to grow at a consistent rate Ms Berejiklian said, but exposure sites have begun emerging in areas outside of those locked-down.

They include communities within the northern beaches and western Sydney, where people have potentially been infectious for days.

Regional NSW will be under lesser restrictions including indoor mask wearing, staying seated in hospitality venues and limiting home visitors to five.

The NZ government paused quarantine-free travel from all Australian states and territories until 9:59pm Tuesday.

NZ's COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the "precautionary step" will be reviewed on Monday.

"I acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience that comes with this pause, but given the high level of transmissibility ... it is the right thing to do," he said in a statement.

Queensland and Victorian leaders have told residents not to travel to NSW and warn of the ramifications of trying to cross their borders after being in a hotspot.

Victoria have posted extra police at the border and travellers run the risk of being turned around or fined up to $5000.

Tasmania has closed its border to regions affected by the lockdown, and Western Australia has reintroduced a "hard border" with the entire state of NSW.

Speculation is increasing one of the nation's premier sporting events, State of Origin, will have to be rescheduled or relocated, with game three between NSW and Queensland due to be played in Sydney on July 14.

In the Northern Territory, a fresh positive case in a worker at a mine 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.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the mine worker tested positive on Friday, after arriving in the Territory on June 18.

The man had travelled from Bendigo via Brisbane, where he was ordered into a quarantine hotel on June 17. He was in quarantine for a single day, when it is believed he caught the virus.

Meanwhile, the federal government continues to be criticised for a slow vaccine rollout because supply does not meet demand.

Two thirds of staff working in aged care homes across Australia remain unvaccinated.

The vaccination rate would have to double to complete the program by the end of the year.

But Prime Minister Scott Morrison insisted the nation is well positioned in the fight against the "truly global pandemic".

"Australia has been able to save lives and save livelihoods and suppress this virus, more successfully than almost any other country in the world," the prime minister said later on Saturday.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration on Friday gave approval for the Johnson and Johnson vaccine - the third COVID-19 vaccine to be approved in Australia.

The Australian government has not yet made any deal to receive the US health company's vaccines, so the TGA decision will not aid the rollout.

"Whether the Johnson and Johnson vaccine will become one of the vaccines utilised in Australia will be up for discussion," Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said on Saturday.

Australia has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, which would cover the entire adult population.

Federal opposition health spokesman Mark Butler lambasted the government on Saturday, blaming Prime Minister Scott Morrison for the lockdown.

"He's bungled the vaccine rollout so that only three per cent of the Australian population are fully vaccinated against these highly infectious variants," Mr Butler said.

Australia recorded 31 new community COVID-19 cases on Saturday, including 29 in NSW, one in Victoria and one in the NT. Six cases were acquired overseas and are in hotel quarantine.

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The NRL will place State of Origin players back in a biosecurity bubble to ensure Game II can go ahead in Brisbane on Sunday, after retrospective stay-at-home orders were issued for several parts of Sydney.

Queensland Health on Friday announced any arrivals who had been in four coronavirus-affected Sydney local government areas (LGAs) since June 11 must quarantine from 1am on Saturday.

That had an immediate impact on Origin, with the retrospective orders pre-dating when NSW left for their training camp just south of the Queensland border in Kingscliff on Monday.

James Tedesco, Latrell Mitchell, Damien Cook, Cameron Murray, Angus Crichton all play for clubs in the Sydney LGA.

Queensland forward Jai Arrow is another to fit that category, and would have been at South Sydney training at Redfern since June 11.

As a result the NRL has implemented the same level-three restrictions the game was played under at the end of last year, with clean and dirty zones in the stadium

"We are dealing with the Queensland government and adapting to their change in protocol," ARL Commission chairman Peter V'landys told AAP.

"We are confident of the outcomes. The Queensland government has been extremely professional with us and cooperative.

"We will continue to work with them. We don't believe there is any problem with the game."

V'landys and NRL staff were set to fly home before the orders come into place, with their office at Moore Park situated inside the City of Sydney LGA.

The Blues are already without doctors Nathan Gibbs and Paul Arnett and physio Travis Touma after they were unable to enter Queensland from the hotspot areas.

It is unclear what the ban on people who live or have visited Sydney, Randwick, Waverley or Woollahra LGAs since June 11 will have on key production and match-day staff.

The changes come after players in Sydney were placed into level-three restrictions earlier in the week in a bid to avoid any major disruptions to NRL games in the city during the outbreak.

Origin III is still scheduled for ANZ Stadium on July 14, however, attention will likely turn to that next.

There are still four games planned for Sydney next week, after the Sydney Roosters moved their clash with Melbourne to Newcastle.

Remaining games are likely to be played with 50 per cent crowds at best, with that order extended until next Friday at least.

Meanwhile, the only international of the weekend - a clash between Lebanon and Malta at Belmore on Saturday - has also been postponed.

© AAP 2021

Image Credit: MDM, CC BY-SA 2.5 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5>, via Wikimedia Commons (image for illustration purposes only)