28 JULY 2021
ISSUE 249
REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS
News
ROCK SOLID!
A revised list of tranche three land sales by Central Coast Council was made public in the lead up to last night’s (July 27) Council meeting See page 5
Out & About
From the Australian Olympic camp, the Kookaburra’s continue to lead the way after three group stage wins, all featuring Berkeley Vale’s Matt Dawson in defence.
Something a little bit out of the ordinary occurred on July 22 at Bateau Bay Beach as a seal appeared on the sand. See page 13
Education
See page 31 Matt Dawson Photo: Olympics.com.au.
Lockdown will end when it is safe to do so About 150 Central Coast people, some from Long Jetty, joined thousands of others in Sydney for a “freedom” rally protesting Covid restrictions - but it has had exactly the opposite effect – the lockdown stays and there’s no end in sight. Parliamentary Secretary for Central Coast, Adam Crouch, announced on Tuesday, July 27 that the Central Coast lockdown could not be ended. “This is due to the unbelievable selfishness of about 150 local residents that attended the ‘anti-lockdown’ protest in Sydney on Saturday (July 24),” he said. “This is also due to the five new local cases announced last weekend. “Unfortunately, the health risk is just too high. “To end the lockdown now would only speed up transmission of the Delta strain.”
Crouch said it would take a few days to see if any community transmission occurred at one of the 18 exposure sites on the Central Coast. “Hundreds of people were unknowingly exposed to COVID-19 and are now being tested,” he said. NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said she was utterly disgusted by the illegal protestors whose selfish actions had compromised the
safety of everyone. It will take about 14 days to see what impact the ‘antilockdown’ protest has on local case numbers. “I spoke to the Premier yesterday (Monday) and she will end the Central Coast’s lockdown as soon as it is safe to do so,” Crouch said. “In the next day or two the Premier will release a ‘road map’ which shows what restrictions can be eased once
the health risk subsides. “Thank you to everyone that has been following the stay-athome rules so well. “It is regrettable that a minority of people have wrecked our chances of ending the lockdown. “If you have any information about Saturday’s protest, please anonymously provide it to CrimeStoppers, even a photo or screenshot will help our Police detectives track down
the protestors,” Crouch said. Thousands of unmasked people took to the streets on Saturday, July 24, with no social distancing, shouting and carrying signs calling for “freedom” and “truth” – described by health authorities as a potential super-spreader event. Among them was Kiran and Kirt Mallie, the owners of a café, Modern Organic, at Long Jetty. Community condemnation and backlash to boycott their café business was swift, after a video of them at the rally was posted by Kiran on her Facebook page, and widely circulated. “Now we know who to blame if it (Covid) comes to the Coast, you should be ashamed of yourselves” said one message in response to the video, and another,“ So many of us disagree with the lockdown but we all follow the rules because we want our freedom back. Continued page 6
Childcare services in Toukley and Wyong will get a $568,000 boost to fund projects to improve services and increase the number of place available. See page 29
Sport
The hosting of the New Zealand Warriors at Central Coast Stadium is over – at least for now, yet the Kiwi side has been forced to say farewell to Roger TuivasaSheck before returning to Auckland for their Round 22 match against the Bulldogs. See page 31
Puzzles page 19
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