UPDATE: on 28 July, the Premier announced that Shellharbour will remain in the lockdown zone, for another four weeks at least.

Following the lifting of the COVID lockdown restrictions on Orange, Blayney and Carbonne Councils, the Member for Kiama, Gareth Ward, has written angrily to the Minister for Health, Brad Hazzard, calling for the lockdown to be lifted in the Shellharbour LGA as well. Parts of the Shellharbour LGA are in Mr Ward's electorate of Kiama.

“I write to express my disagreement and disgust that the Shellharbour Council remains in lockdown,” he said, emphasising that Shellharbour has not had one case since June.

The Central West lockdown was lifted a week after the initial case on 20 July.

“I note that there have been single cases arise in regions like Goulburn; but the Government didn’t plunge that community into lockdown. Why is there such an inconsistent approach? To me and our community, we see nothing but double standards,” he wrote.

“The decision to continue to restrict the freedoms and liberties of the people of Shellharbour is beyond reason and it is so far beyond contempt that it is now utterly laughable.”

On Sunday 25 July there was one new COVID-19 case recorded for the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District, a resident of the Wollongong LGA who is a close contact of one of the Wollongong LGA cases announced last week. This case is isolating at home.

There are no local COVID-19 cases currently hospitalised. 

There were 20,800 COVID-19 tests carried out in the Illawarra Shoalhaven for the week ending Sunday, 25 July.