No Lockdowns for New South Wales Says Premier

The NSW government has rejected a shutdown in dealing with rising cases of the CCP virus. (William West/AFP via Getty Images)

The New South Wales (NSW) government has decided against a wide-scale lockdown to deal with the rising cases of the CCP virus within the state.

Unlike Victoria, NSW, at this stage, will keep the economy open and put the state’s newly armoured health system to the test.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said localised or statewide lockdowns were undesirable and options of last resort.

“We can’t have that repeatedly occur every time there’s an outbreak,” Berejiklian told the ABC on July 14.

“As much as we‘d love to have elimination, as much as we’d love to be able to be in that state, it’s not going to happen in New South Wales, it never will,” said Berejiklian referring to the state’s large population.

However, she noted that there was room for consideration of further restrictions, particularly with high-risk activities such as indoor events.

But the strategy also relies on the goodwill of everybody doing the right thing.

“The next round of success or failure is dependent on our personal action,” Berejiklian told AAP at the Committee for Economic Development of Australia event in Sydney on July 15.

The Morrison government has spent billions of dollars on strengthening intensive care capacity since the early stages of the pandemic, which has killed 51 people in NSW.

“We have taken time in New South Wales to quadruple our health capacity, get the protective equipment we need for our front-line workers, put the processes in place to make sure we can do what is required to contain the spread,” Berejiklian said.

Australia has had successful efforts in flattening the curve of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, which means that these hospital upgrades have not been put to the test.

The Australian reported on July 14 that NSW Minister for Customer Service Victor Dominello said bringing back lockdowns to NSW would not only have profound economic consequences but also significantly damage community morale.

“Every time you lockdown, more and more businesses are not going to make it back, and beyond that, it’s harder to enforce because people will become more agitated that their lives are being repeatedly disrupted so dramatically,” Dominello said.

He said that while Victoria has to make very tough decisions with the circumstances, they’re facing, he thinks “we need to move heaven and earth to make sure that’s our absolute last option.”