Lockdown lifted means good news for community

Published on 16 September 2021

Mayor of Singleton, Cr Sue Moore said today’s announcement that Singleton would emerge from lockdown at 1pm was a reflection of the community’s vigilance to the NSW Government’s restrictions to try to minimise the spread of COVID-19.

Singleton Council is currently reviewing the implications of the lifting of the stay-at-home orders on facilities and staff, with current operations to remain until more information is known.

“After the past six weeks under stay-at-home orders, it’s welcome news for all of us in Singleton that our local government area will come out of lockdown at 1pm today,” Cr Moore said.

“Given the commitment of our community to follow NSW Government and NSW Health restrictions and advice, and the very low number of cases in our LGA, I believe it’s a sensible decision that will bring relief for our community and especially our local businesses who have been hit particularly hard.

“But that’s not to say we can afford to be complacent. We may be out of lockdown, but there are restrictions that continue to be in place, and we all have a role to play in keeping each other and our community safe, especially through measures such as ongoing social distancing.

“I also continue to encourage those people who can to be vaccinated in keeping with the Government’s advice.

“I congratulate and thank everyone in our community for their commitment and vigilance to keeping each other safe, and I hope this is the start of the road out of the Delta outbreak for the Hunter Region and NSW more broadly.”

Council’s services and facilities will continue to operate under lockdown conditions until the implications of the lifting of restrictions were understood, with Council’s Leadership Team meeting daily to review current restrictions. 

General Manager Jason Linnane said as with any such announcement, “we need to ensure we understand the detail before responding or we risk unintended consequences for our staff and community”.

“Council was not expecting today’s announcement that lockdown restrictions would be lifted, and we are currently working to understand the implications on our services, community and staff,” he said.

“At this stage all of our facilities, including the Waste Management Facility, will in the very short-term continue to operate as they have been under COVID lockdown restrictions and those staff who can will be working from home.

“We appreciate this is welcome news for our community and is the result of the commitment and vigilance of everyone to following NSW Government and NSW Health restrictions and advice. We are working as quickly as possible to understand what is now allowable under the restrictions, and there will be announcements as soon as possible about any changes to our operations as they are available.”  

 

ENDS

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