Andrews: Put steel ring around NSW

VICTORIAN Premier Daniel Andrews has called for a “ring of steel” around Sydney in a bid to stop the deadly Covid-19 Delta strain seeping out of the locked down city.

The Victorian government implemented the harsh measure during their second wave last year, in which police and Australian Defence Force personnel manned key entry points to stop cases fleeing into regional areas or other states.

Mr Andrews called on NSW authorities and the commonwealth to enforce the same measure for NSW after the state recorded 136 new locally acquired cases on Friday – 53 of which were infectious while out in the community.

The huge spike in cases prompted NSW officials to label the current Covid-19 situation a “national emergency”.

“We need a ring of steel around Sydney so that this virus is not spreading into other parts of our nation,” Mr Andrews said.

“Let’s focus on what’s going on in Sydney, let’s focus on not spreading what’s going on in Sydney across the rest of our country.”

Victoria recorded 14 new local cases on Friday – 10 of those were already in quarantine during their infectious period. The state will have to wait to see whether its lockdown will be lifted at 11.59pm on Tuesday.