Everything you need to know about Sydney's total shutdown: Who can work, who can't, where you can go and what's closed
Stricter lockdown restrictions were imposed across Sydney and especially in the city's southwest as Covid cases jumped to 111.
The new restrictions announced by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Saturday aimed to completely shut down the southwest Sydney epicenter of the outbreak.
Fairfield, Liverpool and Cantebury-Bankstown residents were to stay in their local councils.
Residents cannot even leave for work unless they work in heathcare and emergency services until July 30 at the earliest.
Construction, large or small, will shut and homes and businesses cannot use paid cleaners or have home repairs done unless urgent
Only 'critical retail' such as supermarkets and pharmacies will be allowed to remain open from 11.59pm on Saturday. Others will have to do click and collect or takeaway.
Construction, large or small, will shut and homes and businesses cannot use paid cleaners or have home repairs done unless urgent.
There were no new rules for regional areas outside Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong, Shellharbour, and the Central Coast.
Here is what the new rules are and which ones apply to you.
Sydney will now face its toughest-ever lockdown restrictions including the closure of non-critical retail, restrictions on the movements of people in three local government areas and a shut down of 'non-urgent' construction
Most shops will shut
The only shops that can stay open from 11.59pm on Saturday across Sydney are:
Everything else can offer click and collect services for goods ordered online or over the phone which customers can pick up or have delivered.
Ms Berejiklian previously insisted that it was not up to the government to determine was was 'essential', but has now backflipped.
Only 'critical retail' such as supermarkets and pharmacies will be allowed to remain open from 11.59pm on Saturday. Others will have to do click and collect or takeaway
Southwest Sydney ringfenced
The vast majority of the cases in the outbreak, more than 80 of Saturday's numbers, are in southwest Sydney.
Ms Berejiklian now wants to quarantine them, and their 810,000 residents from the rest of Sydney, even if they are essential workers.
Residents of Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool local council cannot leave their LGA for work except for emergency services and healthcare workers, including aged and disability workers.
Where those workers do need to leave for work, they are required to be tested every three days, even if they do not have symptoms.
Is your suburb included?
Fairfield suburbs:
Abbotsbury, Bonnyrigg, Bonnyrigg Heights, Bossley Park, Cabramatta, Cabramatta West, Canley Heights, Canley Vale, Carramar, Cecil Park , Edensor Park, Fairfield , Fairfield East, Fairfield Heights, Fairfield West, Greenfield Park, Horsley Park, Lansvale, Mount Pritchard , Old Guildford, Prairiewood, Smithfield , St Johns Park, Villawood , Wakeley, Wetherill Park and Yennora .
Liverpool suburbs:
Liverpool City includes the suburbs and localities of Ashcroft, Austral, Badgerys Creek , Bringelly , Busby, Carnes Hill, Cartwright, Casula, Cecil Hills, Cecil Park , Chipping Norton, Denham Court , Edmondson Park, Elizabeth Hills, Greendale, Green Valley, Hammondville, Heckenberg, Hinchinbrook, Holsworthy , Horningsea Park, Hoxton Park, Kemps Creek , Len Waters Estate, Leppington , Liverpool, Luddenham , Lurnea, Middleton Grange, Miller, Moorebank, Mount Pritchard , Pleasure Point, Prestons, Rossmore , Sadleir, Silverdale , Voyager Point, Wallacia , Warwick Farm, Wattle Grove and West Hoxton.
Cantebury-Bankstown suburbs:
Ashbury , Bankstown, Bankstown Aerodrome, Bass Hill, Belfield , Belmore, Beverly Hills , Birrong, Campsie, Canterbury, Chester Hill , Chullora, Clemton Park, Condell Park, Croydon Park , Earlwood, East Hills, Georges Hall, Greenacre , Hurlstone Park , Kingsgrove , Lakemba, Lansdowne, Milperra, Mount Lewis, Narwee , Padstow, Padstow Heights, Panania, Picnic Point, Potts Hill, Punchbowl, Regents Park , Revesby, Revesby Heights, Riverwood , Roselands, Sefton, Villawood , Wiley Park and Yagoona.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has closed down all 'non-urgent' construction until July 30 and also shut down home repairs and even paid cleaning services
Construction and maintenance halted
With everyone mostly locked inside their homes, the government wants to prevent outsiders coming into them, even for essential reasons.
From 12.01am on Monday, all construction to be paused and non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on homes to be paused.
'Where there are urgent requirements for electricity or water or other repairs, of course that will occur,' Ms Berejiklian said.
Anyone who leaves the home must have a mask with them at all times. They must be worn when you are working outdoors, in outdoor markets, outdoor shopping strips, and in an outdoor queues waiting for products such as coffee and food
More mask restrictions
Anyone who leaves the home must have a mask with them at all times. They must be worn when you are working outdoors, in outdoor markets, outdoor shopping strips, and in an outdoor queues waiting for products such as coffee and food.
'No matter where you live in metropolitan Sydney, Greater Sydney, you must have a mask with you,' Ms Berejiklian said.
'Even if you are exercising with your household, you might change your mind, be in an outdoor market, get a coffee, you must have a mask.
'If you are coming into contact with other people, you must have a mask.'
All carpooling to be stopped unless among members of the same household.
Work from home mandate expanded
Employers must allow employees to work from home if the employee is able to do so, failure to do so can result in a fine of up to $10,000.
Sydney is plunged into harder lockdown after 111 new Covid cases and one death
Sydney's numbers are again headed in the wrong direction with 111 new coronavirus cases recorded on Saturday to end the third week of lockdown.
Another death was also announced on Saturday, a man in his 80s from south-west Sydney. The total number of deaths in NSW from Covid-19 is now 57.
'I can't remember a time when our state has been challenged to such an extent,' Ms Berejiklian said. 'Not a single one of these decisions was taken lightly.'
She defended the measures taken to curb the outbreak so far, saying they had prevented 'thousands and thousands' of cases and the further restrictions were a 'no-regrets policy'.
The premier said at least 29 of the fresh cases were infectious in the community and it's this number that is 'stubborn'.
'We're not managing to get that curve to come down,' she said.
Of the 111 new cases, 83 were from South Western Sydney Local Health District and 11 from western Sydney.
NSW's lockdown numbers have been going in the wrong direction since early July, leading to the toughest restrictions yet for Greater Sydney
Another death was also announced on Saturday, a man in his 80s from southeast Sydney. The total number of deaths in NSW from Covid-19 is now 59.
Cases dropped to 65 on Thursday after peaking at 112 on Monday, raising hopes the city could be out of lockdown on time on July 30.
But cases rose to 97 on Friday and this latest jump prompted restrictions including closing nearly all shops and tightening of movement rules.
Ms Berejiklian warned people outside the southwest Sydney outbreak epicentre that they still needed to be vigilant and follow the rules.
'Just because there hasn't been a case in your suburb or your local government area, don't assume there is not,' she said.
'There is always a gap between the cases that are exposed and the cases may actually be in the community.'
There are 75 people in hospital in NSW with Covid, including 18 in intensive care, and six needing ventilation.
'We are seeing some cases still diagnosed late, but we need to see that number get down, it is far too high and that is the basis for why we have recommended much more extensive actions to reduce those interactions,' NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said.
Workplaces are a key area where new infections are being seeded, she added.
As of Saturday evening, anyone living in Sydney - including the Central Coast, Illawarra and Blue Mountains - must have a mask with them whenever they leave home
Dr Chant defended the decision to wait until now to implement harsher directives, saying the time lag in learning about infections was a challenge and referring to her efforts so far in urging workplaces to 'do the responsible thing'.
The chief health officer was also keen to dispel the myth that it wasn impossible for asymptomatic people to transmit coronavirus, saying a person can be infectious when asymptomatic.
Asked about an infected mother who has been separated from her newborn at Nepean Hospital, Dr Chant said: 'I can't imagine how difficult the circumstances of giving birth knowing that you are Covid-positive.'
There have been 1,137 locally acquired cases reported since 16 June 2021, when the first case in the Bondi cluster was reported.
By 8pm Friday, nearly 82,000 tests were done and 23,715 vaccines were administered.
Virus fragments in wastewater were detected in Minto on Friday, NSW Health warned. Previously the suburb had no Covid cases.
Minto residents were warned to immediately get tested and self-isolate until they get a negative result if they develop any cold-like symptoms.
Expert modelling claims less than half of Sydney residents are following lockdown and the city will remain in lockdown for months if this don't dramatically improve.
A crackdown on Sydneysiders flouting lockdown began on Saturday with 130 more inspectors being deployed from Fairfield to Bondi in an effort to stem the latest Covid outbreak.
Officers from Liquor and Gaming, SafeWork NSW, the Food Authority and Fair Trading will be ensuring residents are adhering to protocol, specifically targeting the use of QR codes and wearing of masks.
New mandates will see QR codes enforced at construction sites, manufacturing plants, warehouses, supermarkets and retail.
NSW Police deputy commissioner Gary Worboys said 162 infringement notices were issued on Friday.
'Millions of people right across this state that are doing absolutely the right thing are being let down by a small minority of people that continue to be irresponsible and make their own choices and decisions that put themselves at risk and their communities at risk,' he said.
From 12.01am on Monday, all construction to be paused and non-urgent maintenance, including cleaning services, and repair work on homes to be paused
Expert modelling claims less than half of Sydney residents are following lockdown and the city will remain in lockdown for months if this don't dramatically improve.
The modelling predicts that if 80 per cent of Sydneysiders were compliant, case numbers of the Delta variant would be in single figures.
But if compliance fell to 70 per cent, it would take until late September to control the outbreak.
Mikhail Prokopenko, the Covid-19 modeller and director of the University of Sydney's Centre for Complex Systems, said social distancing was woefully inadequate.
Professor Prokopenko went onto state it is vital people reduce the frequency of their grocery shopping each week as well as other activities such as exercising beyond one hour timeframes or catching up with friends.
He added he was bewildered by the repeated level of non-compliance with public health orders imposed by under siege state governments.