MEMBER for Port Macquarie Leslie Williams will remain in self-isolation and await further advice after Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall tested positive for COVID.
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The Agriculture Minister has been in isolation since he was notified by health authorities of a possible exposure after he dined at a Sydney pizza restaurant on Monday night.
He confirmed the news on Thursday morning (June 24) after getting his test results. He was notified just after 8am. He was tested twice on Wednesday.
All MPs in NSW Parliament in Sydney this week have been directed to have an immediate test and wait in self-isolation, many of them in their offices, until results are returned.
Mrs Williams has been in Sydney since Monday for the delivery of the State Budget.
She was joined by one staff member and both have been tested on Thursday morning using rapid testing technology.
Read more: 11 new Sydney COVID cases announced
The NSW Premier, who was also tested and returned a negative result, delivered a statement today at 12.30pm. The Premier has been cleared as a casual contact of Mr Marshall.
"We just need to comply with NSW Health instructions. Everybody else in the community must make sure they follow advice from the Premier and the Health Minister," Mrs Williams told the Port News.
"There are now changed restrictions in Sydney council areas, one of which of course is the city of Sydney.
"During the week, we were all wearing masks, but again, I urge people to get the vaccine as soon as they possibly can."
Mrs Williams has had one dose of the Astra Zeneca vaccine and is awaiting her second and final jab.
She said the nature of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID means extra precautions to help prevent the spread of the virus is paramount.
"People can become symptomatic at different stages, so I will be self isolating for two weeks after my test unless I receive other advice," she said.
"All everybody can do is follow advice from NSW Health - they are the experts. All of us have a role to play to contain the virus as much as possible."
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The news is expected to have major ramifications for NSW Parliament. Already the opposition's Budget reply speech has been cancelled while some parliament staff have been told not to enter parliament.
Meanwhile, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has played down fears Sydney is poised to go into lockdown after revealing he is self-isolating after being exposed to a person who could have COVID-19.
Mr Hazzard received a text from NSW Health overnight informing him he has been in close contact with a likely coronavirus case.
He was exposed at NSW Parliament House but was not experiencing any symptoms, he told ABC TV on Thursday.
Mr Hazzard admitted it "was likely" other MPs could be affected.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned "the NSW government will not hesitate to go further and harder if we have to".
Rules have changed
The NSW coronavirus cluster has blown out to 36 infections.
New rules are in place for residents in Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour on Wednesday.
A household guest limit of five, including children, and the four-square-metre rule indoors and outdoors were introduced alongside mandatory masks in all indoor non-residential settings, including workplaces.
Other states have hardened their borders days before NSW public schools break for two weeks.
- WA has closed its border to NSW for anyone who had been in the state since June 11 or in the 14 days prior to travel.
- SA has also closed its border with NSW, excluding a 100km buffer zone for cross border communities.
- Tasmania has declared seven Sydney local government areas as high risk.
- Queensland has closed its border to people from Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour.
- Victoria has also already banned people from the seven "hot zones".
- New Zealand has paused its travel bubble with NSW.
On the vaccination front
NSW Health administered 17,976 COVID-19 vaccines in the 24 hours to 8pm June 23.
The total number of vaccines administered in NSW is now 1,993,638, with 729,783 doses administered by NSW Health to 8pm June 23 and 1,263,855 administered by the GP network and other providers to 11.59pm June 22.
There are more than 300 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week. To find your nearest clinic CLICK HERE or contact your GP.
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