BUSINESSES are crying out for Hunter-specific lockdown information and greater compliance to the COVID-19 public health orders as they stare down the barrel of another seven-day shutdown.
Chief executive Bob Hawes said the "game-changer" Delta variant meant that the Hunter couldn't sit by while the rules were flouted and needed clear guidance.
"We saw double-figures of new cases yesterday which has meant another week of lockdowns," he said.
"While this is probably not a huge surprise to people, it still adds to the pinch on our economy, and the burden on business.
"It's clear that we'll only get out of lockdowns now if our case numbers reduce. Let's make this next week really count and get our numbers right down. Stay at home, follow the rules, and if you're thinking about bending them, know that your decisions have serious consequences, not just to your hip pocket but to livelihoods."
He said any crackdown on those breaching public health orders needed to focus on the region, where the situation has failed to improve after a week.
"The Hunter needs to be one of the priority regions for these compliance enforcement resources, before things get more out of hand," Mr Hawes said.
"The press conferences at 11am each day are really useful in terms of getting the state-wide picture and understanding the significant issues still facing Sydney," Mr Hawes said.
"But the Hunter is NSW second largest economy and our business resilience and bounce-back post-COVID will impact the entire state. We really need local representation somehow at these Q&As so that our businesses and communities can understand impacts more quickly and clearly.
"If next week we are in a similar to position to where we are now, we can anticipate further lockdowns and further damage to the local economy - in some respects, its up to us.
"If that means refusing entry, insisting on check-in compliance, and reporting non-compliance, then we support people in taking a risk-averse approach."
