THE lockdown in regional New South Wales will continue until August 28, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Thursday.
It had been due to finish this weekend, but will now last an extra week, meaning residents of Wentworth and Balranald shires will remain subject to stay-at-home orders.
The extension comes as little surprise to communities in NSW's regions, as COVID-19 outbreaks continue to grow in Wilcannia, Broken Hill and Dubbo.
In stark contrast to the "live with COVID" approach her government is taking in metropolitan Sydney, Ms Berejiklian said she remained optimistic that the lockdown extension would open up the possibility of stamping out COVID-19 in regional NSW.
"We have the opportunity to get down to zero cases in the regions," she said.
"That is what we want to achieve, and therefore we take that precaution and response."
NSW reported a record 681 COVID-19 cases on Thursday. Three additional cases recorded in Wilcannia overnight were to be reported in Friday's numbers.
Health authorities are urging people in NSW's far west to come forward for testing as they work to run "deeply concerning" outbreaks in the remote regions to ground.
"We ask all of the population of western NSW to really be very vigilant for symptoms, to come forward for testing," NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said.
"We are very concerned about the risk of community transmission in Wilcannia, and we call on anyone who has been in or near Wilcannia in recent days to please get tested."
Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews flagged the possibility of further tightening border restrictions should the outbreak north of Mildura worsen and there was “seeding further south right into southern NSW”.
"Then there’s every chance that we would look to go even further," he said.
"Those border communities, as much as it’s difficult to live under these conditions, the last thing you want is this virus getting into those regional communities."
Far West Local Health District is operating drive-through COVID-19 testing clinics at the following locations from 10am-4pm daily until further notice:
- Dareton – George Gordon Oval
- Gol Gol – Gol Gol Football Oval, off Carramar Drive
- Wentworth – Wentworth Show Grounds
- Balranald – Greenham Park Hall
- Ivanhoe – Sports Ground
- Menindee – Menindee Oval, entry through Perry Street
- White Cliffs – White Cliffs Sporting Club, entry through Ethel Street
- Wilcannia – Wilcannia Oval