Premier: No Rules For Distance But Vigilence Needed

PREMIER said she still won’t be entering her parents home, despite restrictions for visitors being eased on Friday, explaining she was in contact with a lot of people and wants to protect her parents from the highly contagious and virulent disease.

“The reason why we are allowing other people to come into households is to extend the definition of care, it’s to reduce social isolation and it’s to improve mental health,” said the Premier.

“Please know this does not give you a licence to go beyond the rules,” she said.

“Please know how important it is for everybody to respect the rules we have put in place,” Gladys Berejiklian said.

The Premier said there was no limit on the distance you can travel to visit a loved on, but it was not an excuse for a weekend away or a short holiday.

“It will be pretty obvious if you are doing the wrong thing, and it will also be pretty obvious because we’ll get a spike in cases and you could be compromising everybody’s ability to move forward,” said Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Mick Fuller, NSW Police Commissioner said, “in terms of is country New South Wales open for business again? And do we people from Sydney going into country New South Wales? I haven’t heard the call out from anyone that it’s time to flood back into country areas for holidays.”

“So I’d just ask that people are sensible about it and I give you the promise that police will continue to sensibly enforce the health orders,” Commissioner Mick Fuller said.

The four reasons for leaving your home still remain:

• Work or school
• Buying something – no restrictions on what is deemed ‘essential’
• Exercise
• Care or medical needs – two adult visitors to a home is under the category of care and easing social isolation

Newmarch House

The Premier said the news of four more deaths at Anglicare’s Newmarch House was devastating and has said it is not acceptable that the operators are keeping loved ones in the dark.

“I think what is does is remind us how contagious this virus is and how it attacks the elderly and vulnerable in particular and our hearts go out to all of the families who’ve succumb to this disease,” said the Premier.

“We say to the operators of that aged care home, you need to lift your game in communicating to loved ones,” she said.

“It’s not acceptable to keep people in the dark,” she said.

“Just put yourselves in the shoes of those people it’s horrific to be fearful about firstly potentially losing a loved one, but then not knowing what’s going on and not being able to offer that care at end of life and these are all issues that the residents and their families deserve to have communicated with them,” Gladys Berejiklian said.

Childcare Centre Closed

A 4 year old at the Brightminds Academy Cranbrook Childcare Centre has been diagnosed with covid-19. The child was infectious for two days at the Centre. The Centre has been closed, contact tracing is being conducted to identify close contacts of the child and cleaning is being undertaken.

Preparing in everyway possible for schools to go back – cleanliness and cleaning $250million (schools and transport) an extra 500 cleaners across the state

Transport and Education Cleaning

Andrew Constance, Minister for Transport said an additional 3,000 cleaners would be hired in New South Wales by the end of June to clean for transport and in education.

“There are displaced cleaners in hospitality which are not in transport and education” said Minister Constance. 

“Trains are cleaned every 12 hours, buses every day and there is a flying squad of cleaners across New South Wales,” he said. 

“But the Minister warned people who are unwell should not be on the transport system,” he said. 

“If you are unwell, even if you just have a sniffle, don’t get on the transport system, stay at home,” said Minister Andrew Constance.

Health Update

Dr Kerry Chant, chief medical officer, has implored people to protect the elderly citing American Centre for Disease Control statistics that in people 85 years of age and older 1 in 10 to 1 in 4 may die and in the 65 to 84 year old bracket 3 to 11 percent may die.

• 11 new cases confirmed
• 5,414 tests – aiming for 8,000 tests per day
• 3,016 cases
• 4 new deaths – a total of 41 overall
• 136 people being treateed
• 17 people in ICU
• 14 people on ventilators