Australia news LIVE Fresh rules for Sydneys lockdown COVID-19 cases spread into regional Victoria

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  • Public transport services in Sydney will be slashed as part of a renewed push to curb COVID-19 infection rates in the community.

    With the number of people infectious in the community continuing to hover in the high 20s â€" reaching 27 on Sunday â€" the NSW government moved to further slow the spread of the Delta strain across metropolitan Sydney.

    Fairfield train station in Sydney’s west on Saturday.

    Fairfield train station in Sydney’s west on Saturday.Credit:Brook Mitchell

    In addition to a range of new restrictions, including a ban on all construction work and with non-essential retail now closed, public transport services will be cut by up to 50 per cent for the first time during the pandemic.

    NSW Transport chief operations officer Howard Collins said the changes would come into effect on Monday with services across all modes reduced by between 30 and 50 per cent for at least two weeks.

    The full story is available here.

    The highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 has spread further into regional Victoria, upended AFL teams and cast doubt over the state’s chance of emerging from lockdown on Tuesday night.

    Mildura in the state’s north-west recorded its first case in 15 months on Sunday after a man in his 30s went to Mildura Base Public Hospital on Saturday night and later returned a positive result.

    Queues at the testing clinic in Mildura on Sunday afternoon.

    Queues at the testing clinic in Mildura on Sunday afternoon.

    On Sunday night, Greater Western Sydney Giants stars Toby Greene and Matt de Boer withdrew from their AFL match against the Sydney Swans and were forced into isolation, in chaotic scenes at Metricon Stadium on the Gold Coast.

    Victoria’s lockdown is scheduled to end at 11.59pm on Tuesday but Burnet Institute epidemiologist Mike Toole said the thought of opening up then was “a bit optimistic” due to daily case numbers still being in the mid-teens.

    He estimated it could be seven to 10 days from when lockdown began that restrictions could start to ease, whereas it could be four to six weeks before Sydney restrictions would roll back.

    Read the full story here.

    Parents across Sydney will be given “stronger advice” to keep their children home, while no more than five teachers will be allowed at schools in the three hotspot local government areas (LGAs) without special permission under new advice issued to principals.

    Schools must staff schools within the Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown local government areas with teachers residing in those areas if possible, said directives from the NSW Department.

    The children of essential workers attend Clemton Park Public School in Earlwood on Tuesday.

    The children of essential workers attend Clemton Park Public School in Earlwood on Tuesday. Credit:Louise Kennerley

    All parents â€" not just those in the hotspot areas â€" will be more strongly encouraged to keep children at home. Last week, only about five per cent of students attended school, but there were up to 80 on some primary school campuses.

    Read the full story here.

    Good morning and thanks for reading our live coverage.

    If you’re waking up in lockdown this morning, we hope you’re doing OK. It’s Monday, July 19.

    I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll bring you the latest news and analysis as the morning unfolds.

    In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know.

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