As it happened: NSW records 124 new local COVID-19 cases; Victoria records 26 new cases

Good evening and thanks for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you’re just joining us now, here’s everything you need to know:

• NSW has recorded 124 new local cases of COVID-19, 70 of which were infectious in the community for either their whole infectious period or part of it. The isolation status of a further 17 cases is under investigation. It marks a new record during the current outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus. Premier Gladys Berejiklian says “there’s no doubt that we anticipate case numbers will continue to go up before they start coming down, and we need to brace ourselves for that”. She adds that “I’m looking forward to the day when I can with confidence tell you we’re now on the decline but we aren’t there yet”.

• Greater Sydney is in the fourth week of a lockdown that is expected to run for at least five weeks, until July 30, and it is likely to run for longer. Three local government areas around Orange in central western NSW (Orange, Blayney and Cabonne) entered into a week-long lockdown at 12.01am on Wednesday. The NSW Premier says she expects to be able to provide an update in coming days about the future of the lockdown but “we’ll be living with some level of restriction ...until the majority of the population is vaccinated”.

• Victoria has recorded 26 new local cases of COVID-19, all of which are linked to current outbreaks. In positive news, 24 of the 26 cases were in quarantine for their entire infectious period. All things going well, the state is due to come out of lockdown next week. By then, Melburnians will have spent around six months in lockdown since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
• South Australia recorded two new local cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total number of cases in its current outbreak to 14. The new cases are a brother and sister in their 20s who attended the Tenafeate Creek Winery in Yattalunga, which was visited by an infectious person on Sunday afternoon from 1.45pm to 4.30pm. That brings the total number of cases linked to that venue to seven. Premier Steven Marshall said he hoped a week-long lockdown in the state which started at 6pm local time on Tuesday would be enough to stop the virus “dead in its tracks”.
• Queensland will close the border to the rest of NSW from 1am on Friday as the state battles a growing coronavirus outbreak. Previously, the border was only shut to Greater Sydney and the local government areas in NSW’s central west that entered lockdown on Wednesday.
• Western Australia has shut its borders to the entire eastern seaboard and South Australia, leaving only Tasmania and the Northern Territory outside the tight restrictions. There were no new cases of COVID-19 overnight in WA.

We’re closing the blog now. Broede Carmody will be back with you from 6am tomorrow.

Fake lockdown advice circulating on social media has prompted NSW Health to warn people to ensure they are getting their information from trusted sources.

A post purporting to show a NSW Health media release has been doing the rounds suggesting supermarkets in NSW will close from July 27 and the lockdown will be extended for another two weeks.

The post is false.

NSW Health has tweeted that it is “aware of incorrect public health advice circulating in the community and on social media regarding Greater Sydney restrictions” and urged residents to “use trusted and credible sources of information”.

Australia and New Zealand have pulled out of the 2021 Rugby League World Cup over safety concerns, in a move expected to torpedo the showpiece international event.

On the same day league officials expressed a desire for the code to become an Olympic event in time for the Brisbane 2032 Games, the Australian Rugby League Commission and the New Zealand Rugby League informed the International Rugby League (IRL) and Rugby League World Cup (RLWC) organisers of their stance.

In a joint statement, the ARLC and NZRL said the decision to withdraw from the World Cup came after considering the risk of COVID-19 infection in the United Kingdom, the worsening environment in Australia and the time a majority of NRL players will spend away from home under strict biosecurity conditions prior to the World Cup.

The ARLC and NZRL resolved that, in the present environment, the risks to athletes and officials travelling to the UK to participate in the tournament this year are too great, and it is unable to endorse Australia and New Zealand’s participation.

ARLC Chairman Peter V’landys said player wellbeing and safety must come first.

Read the full story here.