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'Very sorry': 27,000 residents plunged back into lockdown

Two more NSW regional LGAs are set to go into lockdown following the decision to shutdown two others earlier this week.

Adam Marshall, the Member for Northern Tablelands, wrote on Facebook Glen Innes Severn will go into a seven-day lockdown from 6pm tonight after a case of Covid-19 was detected in the community.

“I am very sorry and realise this was not the news many of you were wanting to hear, especially small business owners, and I fully appreciate the stress and strain this will place on you,” Mr Marshall wrote.

“However, in response to the Covid case and the fact that the individual had been active in the community while infectious, the NSW Chief Health Officer convened an independent panel of medical experts to review all the information relevant to the case in Glen Innes.”

Stay at home orders were only lifted in Glen Innes Severn last week.

Glen Innes town hall is pictured.
The Glen Innes Severn LGA will go into lockdown for seven days from 6pm on Friday. Source: Getty Images (file pic)

The health department has been aware of the case since Thursday but since it was reported after the 8pm deadline on Wednesday, a decision on whether to lockdown the area was delayed.

The LGA has a population of just under 9000 people, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Hilltops LGA – including Young – back in lockdown

Steph Cooke, member for Cootamundra, announced Hilltops LGA would also be going into lockdown for a week from 6pm Friday. It means more than 18,000 more people will be locked down from Friday night.

"I appreciate that will come as a blow to many with school holidays upon us, and the small amount of time that we have been able to enjoy out of the recent Statewide lockdown. I especially recognise the impact this will have on small business owners," she wrote on Facebook.

"However, in response to the Covid case and the fact that there are others under investigation at this time, with contact tracing teams working hard to identify venues of concern, a 7-day lockdown was decided in order to protect the community and safeguard against further spread of Covid in Young and Hilltops more broadly."

Lismore and Albury were also locked down for seven days from Thursday.

The sources of the infections in Albury are unknown, Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Marianne Gale said on Thursday, but they are possibly linked to Sydney.

"Those people appear unrelated to each other (and) there are a number of exposure sites," she said.

"So I'd ask everybody living in the Albury area to please be vigilant for systems and come forward for testing."

The Lismore case is also possibly linked to Sydney, with potential exposure sites including a school.

NSW recorded 1,284 new cases of community-transmitted coronavirus on Friday and 12 more deaths which included two women in their 20s.

with AAP

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