As the number of COVID-19 cases in New South Wales shows no sign of decreasing, the Greater Sydney lockdown has been extended and a raft of other measures have been announced in a bid to flatten the curve.
After the state recorded 642 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and four deaths on Friday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was time to "bunker down".
Here's what you need to know about the changes being introduced.
Greater Sydney lockdown extended
The lockdown in Greater Sydney has now been extended until the end of September.
It means the lockdown, which has already run for eight weeks, will now run for at least 13 weeks.
However, the Central Coast and Shellharbour, which had been considered a part of Greater Sydney, will now be classified as part of regional NSW and exempt from the extension.
The lockdown in rural and regional NSW is due to end on 28 August. A decision on whether it will be extended will come next week.
All healthcare workers across NSW must now have their first COVID-19 vaccination by 30 September.
Parents have also been strongly encouraged to keep children out of childcare.
Curfews for LGAs of concern
From midnight Monday 23 August, curfews will be introduced from 9pm to 5am in the NSW hotspot local government areas.
These areas include Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, and Strathfield.
Ms Berejiklian and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant on Friday both conceded evidence on the efficacy of curfews was "mixed".
"I do not want us to have to look back and say we did not try, we did not put everything into it," Ms Berejiklian said.
Other changes for LGAs of concern
Also from Monday, residents from the hotspot LGAs will only be allowed to exercise outdoors for one hour per day.
Click and collect facilities will be expanded. Garden centres, shops with office supplies, hardware stores, landscaping stores and pet shops will all have to close.
All exams, excluding the HSC, will move online.
From 28 August, authorised workers from the LGAs of concern must carry a permit stating they can’t work from home. Anyone entering an LGA of concern must also carry a permit from that same date.
It's also been announced childcare and disability workers who live in the 12 hotspot LGAs must have their first COVID-19 vaccination dose by 30 August.
Authorised workers who work outside their LGA will only be able to work if rapid antigen testing is implemented at their worksite or they've had their first vaccination.
Mask restrictions for Greater Sydney
From Monday, residents across NSW will also have to wear masks both indoors and outdoors unless they are exercising.
"Our concern is that when people are walking past a group of people or accidentally bumping into people, that can cause that fleeting contact [that] can cause transmission, and even when you’re exercising, you need to have the mask unless you’re doing some strenuous exercise," Ms Berejiklian said.
More police powers
The state government has again given NSW Police greater powers.
Commissioner Mick Fuller has been given the ability to lock down apartment blocks while NSW Health assesses COVID risk, even before anyone tests positive.
Police can now also direct a person issued with an infringement notice to return home.
People who enter LGAs of concern without a reasonable excuse will face fines of $1,000 and an order to isolate at home for two weeks.
With AAP
SBS is providing live translations of daily New South Wales and Victoria COVID-19 press conferences in various languages.
