UPDATE! Hunter records 13 cases as NSW goes into lockdown

BY JARROD MELMETH

UPDATE 3PM:

Hunter New England Health has advised of an update to the regions daily case numbers. At 11am 16 cases were announced, two have since received negative second test results and one is not from the local health district. This brings the daily total to 13 new cases.

Of the new cases, four are in Lake Macquarie, seven in Maitland, one in Cessnock and one in Scone.

All of the new cases are linked to existing cases while three were infectious within the community, bringing the regions total to 95 cases since August 5.

The news comes as the Deputy Premier John Barilaro announces the whole of NSW will now be subject to stay at home orders from 5pm on Saturday.

The state-wide lockdown comes as a quiet a shock, due to the nature of the announcement. With only two hours to go until the lockdown is in force, there has been no official communication from Premier Gladys Berejiklian, only a series of tweets from coalition MP's.

Meanwhile, a number of new exposure sites have been added across the Hunter including in Jesmond, Rutherford, Green Hills and Kotara.

Anyone who was at the following venues at the dates and times is a casual contact and must get tested and isolate until a negative result is recieved. Priceline at Jesmond was earlier listed as a close contact exposure site. It has since been downgraded by Hunter New England Health.

• Priceline Pharmacy, Jesmond on Wednesday 4 August between 11:50am - 12:55pm
• Sprouting Health Chiropractic, Rutherford on Saturday 7 between from 9:25am - 10:25am
• Guzman Y Gomez, Stockland Green Hills on Saturday 7 August between 2:30pm - 8:30pm, Sunday 8 August between 2:30pm - 8:30pm, Monday 9 August between 2:30pm - 8:30pm, Wednesday 11 August between 5pm - 8:30pm
• Pharmacy4Less, Kotara on Wednesday 4 August from 2:02pm - 2:15pm

For the full list of dates and times for any of the venues of concern, head to the NSW Health website.

EARLIER:

The Hunter has recorded 16 new cases of COVID-19, taking the regions total to 98. 

Concerningly, the state has had its worst day, with 466 new cases, of which at least 87 were infectious within the community.

The number of new cases in the Hunter is above the six recorded on Friday, but NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said along the way that she expects numbers to bounce around.

Of the new local cases, three were recorded in Lake Macquarie, two in Newcastle, eight in Maitland, one in Cessnock and two in Singleton.

The results of the around 700 tests conducted on students at the University of Newcastle have all come back negative, that's off the back of the five cases originally reported from the International House on-campus accomodation cluster.

Overnight, NSW Health released a number of new exposure venues at Jesmond, Broadmeadow and Waratah.

Anyone who was at Priceline Pharmacy at Jesmond on Wednesday 4 August between 12:50pm and 12:55pm is considered a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of negative result.

Anyone who was at the Home Timber and Hardware at Broadmeadow on Wednesday 4 August between 11:25am and 12:10pm or the Redeem City of David Church at Waratah on Sunday 1 August between 10am and 2:30pm are considered a casual contact and must get tested and isolate until negative result is received.

For the full list of dates and times for any of the venues of concern, head to the NSW Health website.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian also announced harsher penalties for anyone breaching the Public Health Orders including those who lie to contact tracers, checkpoints on roads, as well as 500 extra Australian Defence Force personnel will be deployed to ensure compliance with the orders. 

Anyone travelling to the regions from Greater Sydney will need a permit. The permit will come into effect from next Saturday. Police will e monitoring those coming into the regions making sure they are heading there for permitted reasons.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller is calling it, Operation Stay at Home and says he is not apologetic about the strict restrictions and the strict enforcement.