People in Newcastle and the Hunter region have joined Greater Sydney in lockdown after NSW suffered its darkest day of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The one-week snap lockdown, which began at 5pm on Thursday, was called after five new cases turned up in Newcastle and eight more were found in the Central Coast region.
Five people were confirmed to have COVID-19 in the Newcastle area on Thursday, including four cases recorded after the most recent reporting period.
The source of infection for the cases is under investigation but is believed to be linked to a gathering at Blacksmith Beach, south of Newcastle on Friday.
Several regional schools Maitland Christian School near Newcastle, Morisset High at Lake Macquarie and Lake Munmorah Public School on the Central Coast - have been temporarily closed over COVID-19 cases.
NSW saw 262 new local cases reported on Wednesday, of which at least 72 were in the community while infectious.
Security guards outside Morisset High School as it awaits deep cleaning after a student tested positive to COVID-19. Source: AAP
Five people died in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday - three men in their 60s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s. None were fully vaccinated.
It was the deadliest day of the pandemic, and recorded the highest daily number of cases.
Also in NSW, a 34-year-old woman died of a rare clotting syndrome caused by the AstraZeneca vaccine, the Therapeutic Goods Administration reported on Thursday.
Six people have now died from the condition, out of about 6.8 million vaccine doses.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian says vaccination is the way out of the crisis which has shut down Greater Sydney for almost six weeks.
She said restrictions will remain in some form until 80 per cent of people are vaccinated, and wants 50 per cent jabbed by the end of the month.
The premier says no one in NSW who has died from COVID-19 has had two doses of a vaccine.
She welcomed the news that the state would be receiving a fast-tracked supply of almost 185,000 Pfizer doses.
Up to 40,000 Pfizer doses which were taken from the regions to inoculate Year 12 students will be replaced in the week of 16 August.
Greater Sydney will be subject to stay-at-home orders until at least 28 August.
The lockdown of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock is set to lift on 13 August.
Restrictions crippling workforces
Meanwhile, developers are warning they'll need to put people out of work if restrictions remain in place past August.
The Urban Development Institute of Australia surveyed its members, with a quarter saying they'll need to make large cuts to their workforces if restrictions go on any longer.
One third of housing construction sites in NSW are still closed, the institute says.
Developers are operating at half capacity on average for sites that are open, with many workers kept off-site by extra restrictions that apply to eight local government areas of concern.
UDIA chief executive officer Steve Mann wants the government to allow workers - who have had two jabs - to leave their LGAs to work at the end of August.
New data from the Australian Banking Association shows thousands of recently locked-down Australians have deferred repayments of their mortgages or business loans.
More than 20,000 have received hardship assistance during the recent lockdowns and 14,500 have deferred mortgage repayments since 8 July, with more than two thirds of them in NSW.
There have been deferrals of more than 600 business loans in that same period. Almost 80 per cent were in NSW.
Many of the calls for help in NSW are coming from businesses and families who've been hit by the shutdown of the construction industry, the banking peak body says.
With SBS News
