Eight Western NSW LGAs in lockdown, Newcastle stay-at-home orders extended

Eight local government areas (LGA) in Western NSW entered a one-week lockdown at 7pm last night after two new locally acquired COVID-19 cases were reported in the region.

The stay-at-home restrictions apply to the LGAs of Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Narromine, Walgett and Warren and are expected to last until 19 August.

"The rules for this area will be the same as those already in place across Greater Sydney, as well as Dubbo, Tamworth, Northern Rivers, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock," NSW Health reported in an update.

"Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave. They also cannot have social visitors in their home from outside their household, including family and friends.

"People still can have one visitor at one time to fulfil carers' responsibilities or provide care or assistance, or for compassionate reasons, including where two people are in a relationship but do not live together."

The two new cases in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) are members of the same household and will be included in today's numbers for the state.

Hunter and Newcastle lockdown extended

With additional cases being reported in the Hunter and Upper Hunter region today, the NSW Government has extended the region's lockdown by an additional week.

The area, which includes the eight LGAs of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton and Muswellbrook was set to come out of lockdown tomorrow.

"I think given what the area's experiencing the community would understand why that's the case," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Elsewhere in regional NSW the areas of Armadale, Tamworth and the Northern Rivers recorded zero cases of COVID-19 today, and five cases were reported in Dubbo.

In total, 345 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases were reported today, of which 116 were isolating while infectious, 34 were in isolation for part of their infectious period, and 57 in the community while infectious. The isolation status of 138 cases remains under investigation.

Updated at 9:46am AEST on 12 August 2021.