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Sydney lockdown reportedly set to be extended by four weeks

The lockdown on Greater Sydney will reportedly be extended by another month.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce on Wednesday the lockdown will be extended by four weeks after it was due to end on Friday, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The reported extension means Greater Sydney and surrounding areas will be in lockdown for about two months.

However, construction will resume except in the four hotspot LGAs.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks to media during a press conference in  Sydney.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will reportedly extend lockdown by a month. Source: Getty Images

On Tuesday, NSW reported 172 new cases of coronavirus with 79 in the community while infectious.

Infections continue to centre around the city's west and while case rates are falling in the Fairfield local government area, the worst-hit area in terms of cases, they are on the rise in Canterbury-Bankstown LGA.

Lockdown settings 'might change'

The premier said Sydney would not come out of lockdown too early.

"Some settings might change. We might need to go harder in some areas and release some settings in others," Ms Berejiklian said.

A deserted street in the central business district of Sydney, Australia.
A woman walks through a desserted Sydney CBD. Source: Getty Images

She reiterated her goal remained to get daily cases infectious in the community as close to zero as possible.

"We know we've put in the hard yards of five weeks and we don't want to waste all the great work we've done by opening too early, and then having the virus spread again," Ms Berejiklian said.

There has been speculation Sydney could face harsher restrictions.

Professor of epidemiology, and World Health Organisation adviser, Mary-Louise McLaws said a harsher lockdown would work and it would need to include four specific rules to help drive down growing cases.

Both Victoria and South Australia announced on Tuesday lockdown will end on Wednesday in both states.

NSW to 'introduce singles bubble', testing for students

A singles bubble will also be among Wednesday's announcements, The Australian reported.

It would mean people could meet indoors even if they are not intimate partners but they would have to be living alone.

The details so far are not clear but the decision on the bubble reportedly came after a crisis cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Cabinet is also expected to introduce rapid testing for Year 12 students and essential workers which could present results in just 15 minutes.

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