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The next level of lockdowns could be coming soon for residents of New South Wales as State Premier Gladys Berejiklian considers tightening restrictions ahead of the rest of the nation.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Premier Berejiklian says a number of conditional thresholds will need to breached before she pulls the trigger on 'Stage Three' lockdowns.
These include whether the community is following self-isolation guidelines (based on factors like Opal Card usage, foot traffic in busy areas, public transport usage etc.), the number of people presenting to hospital, and the rate of community-to-community transmission.
"It's not one number. If I gave you a number and said this is the trigger point that would be a mistake," says Berejiklian.
The State is also planning on introducing a second stimulus package which could include rental relief for businesses and households.
Berejiklian says the State Government is finalising the details of that stimulus package which will be announced sometime today or tomorrow.
These proposed measures come as NSW hits 1,405 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
In total, Australia now has 2,991 confirmed cases of the coronavirus and 13 deaths.
NSW is leading the nation by far with its number of confirmed cases, followed by Victoria with 520, Queensland with 492, South Australia with 235, Western Australia with 231, the ACT with 53, Tasmania with 45, and the Northern Territory with seven.
Updated at 10:23am AEDT on 27 March 2020.
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