OUTSIDE MASK MANDATE INTRODUCED ACROSS NSW FROM MONDAY

New South Wales has recorded 642 new COVID-19 cases.

An outdoor mask mandate will be introduced next Monday (August 23), requiring everyone in NSW to wear a mask outdoors, except when exercising.

Three cases were recorded in the Hunter New England Health District, bringing the total number of cases in the current outbreak to 153.

2 are in Newcastle, 1 case is in Maitland, and all are linked to previously reported cases.

Three cases were recorded on the Central Coast. There was one additional case in South Kempsey.

Meanwhile, fragments of the virus have been detected in the Port Macquarie sewage treatment plant.

NSW Health’s says anyone in the areas of detection is urged to monitor for symptoms, and if they appear, to immediately get tested and isolate.

stay-at-home orders in place for regional NSW, including the Central Coast, have been extended until at least 12.01am on August 28.

Greater Sydney lockdown has been extended until the end of September.

There’s were no new cases in the New England area overnight.