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"Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Premier Gladys Berejiklian have announced an increased payment for workers and a new package for businesses affected by the Sydney lockdown.\r\nMr Morrison says the pandemic \"sets its own rules\" and that the NSW outbreak has proven \"more severe\" and \"more dangerous\".\r\n\"The Commonwealth understands that it will be continuing to support (NSW) for as long as the lockdown remains in place and hopefully that won't be too long,\" he said.\r\nMs Berejiklian said the payments will give people \"peace of mind and also the ability to follow the health advice\".\r\n\"Our intention is always to have this lockdown go no longer than it needs to,\" the NSW Premier said.\r\nWant to join the family? Sign up to our Kidspot newsletter for more stories like this.\r\n\r\nThe Federal and State Government has announced financial support for businesses. Source: iStock.\r\n\"You don't have to have lost your job\"\r\nMr Morrison says the Commonwealth Covid-19 Disaster Payment is being increased from $500 to $600 for people who have lost more than 20 hours of work, and from $325 to $375 for people who have lost between eight and 20 hours.\r\nThe NSW Government will cover the cost of any payments to people in parts of the state outside the Sydney metropolitan area, not declared a Commonwealth hotspot.\r\n\"You can get that payment right now,\" Mr Morrison said.\r\n\"You don't have to have lost your job, you don't have to have left your employer. It doesn't matter who your employer is. If you are lost those hours, you can access that payment right now.\"\r\nThe payment will also now roll over each week continuously for the duration of the lockdown, rather than require people to reapply each week.\r\nRELATED: New plan will see NSW schools ranked by COVID risk\r\n\r\nSupport for businesses\r\nThe federal government will also offer cashflow support to affected businesses of up to $10,000 per week.\r\nThe payments are tied to 40 per cent of payroll, and range from $1500 per week for sole traders to a maximum of $10,000.\r\n\"That will come at a cost between the Commonwealth and states around $500,000 a week, met equally by the state and the Commonwealth government,\" Mr Morrison said.\r\nTo receive the payment, businesses will be required to maintain their full time, part time and long term casual staffing level as of 13 July 2021.\r\nFrom week four of the lockdown the new small and medium business support payment will be implemented and administered by Service NSW.\r\nThe assistance will end when current lockdown restrictions are eased or when the Commonwealth hotspot declaration is removed.\r\n\r\nWorkers who have lost more than 20 hours of work can access a $600 payment. Source: iStock.\r\nMental health support\r\nThe Prime Minister also announced a $17.5 million boost to mental health services, including organisations Lifeline, the Butterfly Foundation, Kids Helpline, Beyond Blue and counselling for perinatal depression and anxiety\r\nHe also made a special mention to students studying for their HSC.\r\n\"I encourage parents and community members to let young people know help is there,\" he said.\r\nNot good enough\r\nAhead of the announcement Night Time Industries Association chair Justine Baker told 2GB's Deborah Knight while the extra support was welcome, many businesses would not survive.\r\n\"It's really challenging for the industries,\" she said.\r\n\"It's not like last time … last time when were closed down we had so many support mechanisms in place in terms of JobKeeper, JobSeeker, we had rent national code of conduct, we has cashflow boosts. We welcome what today's announcement will be but it won't be enough for our night-time industries.\"\r\nWhen will the lockdown end?\r\nMs Berejiklian has repeatedly said the number of cases out in the community while infectious needs to get to as close to zero as possible before the lockdown can end.\r\nWhile this may seem ominous with 21 of today’s cases in the community while infectious, a look at the number of cases in isolation for their full infectious period reveals a bit of positive news.\r\nOf today’s 89 cases, 62 per cent were in isolation while infectious, a jump from the 43 per cent the day before. There are now 767 cases linked to the latest NSW outbreak and two deaths.\r\nAt the Tuesday afternoon press conference the Premier said she'd have more to say on the lockdown on Wednesday.\r\n\"I've already made clear the unlikelihood of the lockdown finishing on Friday and the numbers speak for themselves, and we'll have more to say about that tomorrow,\" she said.\r\nPeople can visit Services Australia and Service NSW websites for more.\r\n"
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