Crippled businesses and stood-down staff will get extra payments to get them through the additional four weeks of Sydney lockdown announced by the New South Wales government on Wednesday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the lockdown had been extended to August 28, with authorities making no headway in reducing case numbers as the Delta strain of Covid-19 stubbornly circulates around south-west and western Sydney.
A further 177 cases of the virus were recorded on Wednesday, of which 46 were out in the community while infectious.
Health officials found 90 infections in south-west Sydney and 46 cases in the city s west in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.
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Staff at Wollongong hospital urgently told to get tested for Covid and isolate
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