The push for vaccinations in New South Wales continues as Premier Gladys Berejiklian pushes August as the month for as many of us as possible to get the jab, with the hope of ending the lockdown at the end of the month or at least easing restrictions.
COVID-19 case numbers continue to rise in Sydney, while cases are also popping in the local area.
12 new cases were reported in the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District on Tuesday.
It comes as a host of new venue alerts were issued over the past week, including for Officeworks at Penrith, which was listed as a ‘close contact’ venue.
Anyone who visited Officeworks on High Street between 12pm and 5pm on Monday, July 26 must get tested for COVID-19 and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
Casual contact venues include the Easy Script Pharmacy at St Marys (Saturday, July 31 between 12.30pm and 12.35pm) and Liquor Stax at St Marys (Thursday, July 29 between 4.45pm and 5.30pm).
“Workplaces and households are the main places where the virus is transmitting so we urge everyone that if you must leave the house, assume everyone you come into contact with has the virus,” Ms Berejiklian said today.
“We just need everyone to work hard to get the case numbers down but also to get the vaccination rates as high as possible.”
Ms Berejiklian said she was aiming for six million jabs to be undertaken by the end of August.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant urged people in Penrith to be on alert given it neighbours the Blacktown Local Government Area, which is currently subjected to harsher lockdown restrictions given the number of cases in the region.
Local residents are urged to keep checking the list of venue exposure sites on the NSW Health website.
The vaccine eligibility checker is available at https://covid-vaccine.healthdirect.gov.au.
Troy Dodds
Troy Dodds is the Weekender's Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia's leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.