Premier’s Update – Tuesday

THIS morning the Premier said people will not be permitted to travel for Easter and expressed concern about community transmissions from unknown sources.

“We are still increasingly concerned about the community to community transmissions,” said Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

“That for us is a huge danger point for us in New South Wales and it’s causing us the most level of concern,” she said.

Police will have the power to stop people over the Easter period and ensure they are not leaving their homes to go to their holiday home or other accommodation.

“None of us can travel, none of us can go on holidays,” said the Premier.

“We cannot have communities that currently don’t have the virus to get contaminated unintentionally, because people are moving around when they shouldn’t,” she said.

“All of us have to act as if we’ve got it or the people we are dealing with have got it.”

“The reality is until we can find a vaccine we all have to live with this virus, until a vaccine is found social distancing is a way of life now,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Accommodation Initiative

The NSW Premier has said $58 million will be available over the next six months, to provide free accommodation and free parking to frontline health care workers so that they can stay in hotels, rather than return to their families and risk infecting them, if that is their choice.

Health Update

• There are now 2,686 confirmed cases of the virus in NSW.
• 49 new cases confirmed in the last 24 hours.
• There have been 21 deaths, including 3 deaths in the last 24 hours: a 90 year old male who died in Liverpool hospital, a 90 year old male who was a resident of the Dorothy Henderson Lodge and an 87 year old woman from Ruby Princess. The total deaths associated with the Ruby Princess is 5.
• Residents in the following areas should present for testing if they have symptoms of Covid-19: Waverley, Woollahra, Dee Why, Manly, Ryde, Macquarie Park, Broken Hill, Lake Macquarie, Manning, Nowra, Byron and Port Macquarie. Cases of local transmission where they have not be able to find the source.

Police Update

• Tomorrow 200 people will be released from hotel isolation.
• Another 2,000 will end isolation next week.
• Domestic and family violence is up slightly.
• Alcohol related crime and assaults slightly down.