No cases and no relief from lockdown for Upper Hunter

Parts of the Upper Hunter will remain in lockdown for a third week despite no local COVID-19 cases being recorded.

The regional lockdown was on Thursday extended by another week to August 28. Muswellbrook and Singleton have been in lockdown since August 5, alongside Newcastle and other Lower Hunter towns, but have not recorded a case in the current outbreak.

The Upper Hunter Shire was brought into lockdown last Saturday alongside the rest of regional NSW.

Government and business representatives in the Upper Hunter said while there were some frustrations with lockdown taking a toll on businesses and social lives, they understood why the area had been thrust in with the Lower Hunter.

"We are linked to the Lower Hunter," Muswellbrook mayor Rod Scholes said. "We have a lot of drive in workers here and the New England Highway is a major arterial road between. The other concern is Western NSW, which is moving slightly closer to us with the cases in Mudgee.

"Like anywhere we are a diverse society with a full range of thoughts and opinions. A lot of businesses are suffering very badly, some might not recover from this situation which is not great.

"But the orders are the orders we must adhere to them, and rely on the experts.

"The good thing is the new permit system will reduce the chance of spread from Sydney to Newcastle and if Newcastle can continue to keep low numbers the chances are restrictions will be able to be eased."

Muswellbrook Chamber of Commerce member services manager Wayne Toms said it was a matter of "short term pain for a long term gain".

"Given the situation and given the numerous examples of how the virus spread as result of people's movement, even though I think most businesses look forward to lockdown being lifted, it's the right thing to do," he said.

EXTENSION: Upper Hunter towns will remain in lockdown despite no local COVID-19 cases. They were included with the Lower Hunter due to the movements of people to the area mainly due to mining.

Upper Hunter MP David Layzell has called on Deputy Premier John Barilaro to ensure the Upper Hunter is not just considered part of Newcastle.

"It's important he remembers the Hunter Valley itself, although we interact with Maitland, is a separate place to Newcastle. We're talking about two very different regions, you've got the metro region, then you've got the country. They have different risk profiles."

But Mr Layzell said he also didn't want to see areas come out of lockdown too early, then need to shut back down again.

Mr Barilaro said the Upper Hunter was one of the "unique scenarios" that had been subjected to the longer lockdown despite no cases, along with Tamworth and Armidale. But he said he was confident the Upper Hunter council areas would be treated differently to Newcastle if they remain case-free.

"The reality is that we will have gone through two rounds of incubation," he said. "That gives us another level of confidence that there are no cases.

"We're more than confident that the Upper Hunter will be seen separately if there are cases for instance in Newcastle."