While Wagga residents are pulling together to do the right thing in the face of the pandemic, the goings-on of the last week have been increasing reminders that more changes and harsher restrictions are only the blink of an eye away. The city has taken to mask-wearing like it is an Olympic sport. The public health orders require them to be worn indoors in all non-residential settings, in certain outdoor situations such as open-air events and at sporting matches, and where social distancing cannot be maintained. But observing the public coming and going in Baylis Street and the CBD at the weekend indicates most people are continuing to stick with the mask even when they are not required to. And that is fantastic. It is a clear, highly visible indication that our community is taking the pandemic, this outbreak and the advice that comes with it very seriously. In other news As the state has observed in the course of the last week, there is little time between the first sign COVID-19 could be in an area and the full ringing of alarm bells. It was seen in Newcastle on Wednesday morning, when premier Gladys Berejiklian and chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant announced they were concerned about high viral loads being detected in sewage monitoring in the Hunter region. The region entered a snap week-long lockdown 30 hours later. There have been 20 cases confirmed in the Hunter-New England Local Health District since. Armidale experienced a similar tale. Fragments in sewage surveillance were flagged on Thursday, by Saturday morning two cases were announced and the Armidale Regional local government area and Guyra were preparing for a seven-day lockdown. Five venues in Tamworth were added to NSW Health's list of exposure sites late on Sunday night, and while no cases have been found there yet, that regional city enters a week-long lockdown at 5pm on Monday. Dubbo, where COVID-19 fragments have also been detected in the sewage, is yet to see a case emerge but is on alert. And despite all our precautions, Wagga mayor Greg Conkey's revelation that a person a day is being fined by police for breaching the public health orders and being in our city rather than at home in Greater Sydney is a sobering one.
