Dubbo residents who have visited any of the three Central West LGAs in lockdown must adhere to the stay-at-home orders, while the NSW Deputy Premier urged, "If you don't need to go to regional NSW, don't".
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Orange, Blayney and Cabonne will tomorrow enter their second of a seven-day snap lockdown following crisis talks to contain the spread of the highly transmissible Delta strain of Covid-19. Anyone in Dubbo who visited those areas on or after Saturday, July 17 must self-isolate for 14 days.
Community leaders in Dubbo are calling for calm, and for residents to adhere to public health order requirements.
"This is a reminder that we are all in this together," Member for Dubbo Dugald Saunders said. "When something happens just down the road, it becomes very, very real. You need to do the right thing by your family, your friends and your loved ones."
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Dubbo Mayor Stephen Lawrence reiterated the need for residents to do their bit to keep the virus at bay.
"Obviously this is a really concerning time for people, this certainly feels very close when you hear the virus is in Orange," Cr Lawrence said.
"I have a lot of confidence that our community will stay calm and continue to do the right thing. That means continuing to check in, observe safe social distancing and comply with public health requirements."
Flow-on effects include local sport - a number of teams were scheduled to play in Orange this weekend, while some from Orange competed in Dubbo last weekend.
The Wellington Eisteddfod hasn't escaped unscathed - a number of dance competitors are now unable to leave Orange to compete.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the focus should be on improving vaccination rates in regional NSW, and urged people to get tested. "If you're not feeling well in regional and rural NSW, please, please, please go and get tested."
"If you don't need to come, we don't want you here," Mr Saunders said.
"It's a hard lockdown for those areas (Orange, Blayney and Cabonne), it's a stay-at-home order if you've been to those areas and if people do the right thing, it minimises the likelihood that it will spread and we'll have to go into lockdown elsewhere."
"We should prepare ourselves for the possibility that the virus could land here, but at the same time have confidence that if we pull together, we will stay safe," Cr Lawrence said.
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