Lockdown life for millions of Australians could go from bad to worse amid fears tougher restrictions on their movements could be enforced, with businesses already on their knees.
Sydneysiders will wait at least another week for freedom after lockdown was extended until July 16, as New South Wales battles to control a rapidly growing coronavirus outbreak of the highly infectious Indian Delta strain.
Cases are expected to soar in the coming days as the virus spreads across Sydney's south-west, where residents in the local government areas of Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown have been ordered to not leave home unless necessary.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian proposed harsher restrictions in those regions if the outbreak continues to worsen, despite opposition from her own government.
The extension of lockdown of Sydney and surrounding regions, which is costing an estimated $1billion a week, has sparked anger from furious business owners who told Daily Mail Australia they are fearing for their livelihoods - with Canberra ruling out any financial assistance.
Thousands of Sydneysiders were ordered to isolate and get tested after 18 new exposure sites were announced late Wednesday night, with a Commonwealth Bank ATM in Burwood flagged as an exposure and infection site.
Residents in the Liverpool, Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown LGAs have been ordered to not leave home unless it's necessary (pictured, a Sydneysider stocking up on fresh produce in Bankstown on Wednesday)
Lockdown has been extended after NSW recoded 27 new cases on Wednesday (pictured, a woman jogging at The Rocks in Sydney's CBD)
Residents in the Fairfield, Liverpool and Canterbury-Bankstown regions have been urged not to visit loved ones, avoid unnecessary contact with other households, limit movements in indoor public setting and one person per household to go shopping for essentials.
An Aldi supermarket, car yard, Woolworths, Coles and medical centre were among the 18 new exposure sites across Sydney announced by NSW Health late Wednesday night.
Half of the new sites are in the three local government areas in Sydney's south-west, where residents have been ordered to stay at home due to a rapid rise in cases, with 21 new infections in just two days.
An urgent alert has been issued for anyone who attended the ATMs at the Commonwealth Bank Burwood branch on June 28 between 6.50pm and 7.10pm and July 2 between 5.30pm and 5.50pm.
Anyone at the ATMs at the listed times is regarded as a close contact and has been ordered to get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
Ms Berejiklian warned police operations in those regions will be ramped up and has proposed tougher restrictions on residents movements if cases continue to soar.
This could point at a return to the 5km travel limit, or a 'ring of steel' like seen in Melbourne's fourth-month-long lockdown.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) won't rule out restricting the movements on residents in Sydney's south-west if cases continue to soar
The once bustling Rocks area of Sydney, popular with international and domestic tourists alike, has become a ghost town (pictured on Wednesday)
Nine of 27 new cases recorded in NSW on Wednesday came from a mystery source.
Ms Berejiklian's tough stance has divided senior members of her own ministerial cabinet.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet opposed lockdown being extended beyond two weeks due to the devastating impact on businesses struggling to survive.
He's expected to expand the state's financial rescue package and extend payments to businesses currently ineligible due to an annual turnover of less than $75,000, The Australian reported.
Some MPs in regional areas with no cases from the latest outbreak have pleaded with Ms Berejiklian to rethink the current lockdown settings.
Sydney's streets will remain deserted for at least another nine days. Pictured is Milsons Point
Ravaged small businesses and frustrated families are begging for an end to Sydney lockdowns that are destroying their lives, with one warning 'it's like Chernobyl out there'.
Sydney's abandoned CBD is like a ghost town, and previously bustling hot spots like the historic Rocks area - overlooking the Opera House and Harbour Bridge - are now silent and empty.
Business owners are desperate for a way out and a return to normality before the damage becomes permanent.
And for families, the thought of a prolonged extension to the lockdown is chilling.
'People trying to work from home and juggle home schooling - that's hard,' said Paddington mum Paula Vass, 40, as she exercised with daughter Charlotte, eight, and husband Andrew, 41, in Rushcutters Bay on the harbour's shoreline.
'It's not easy.'
Ravaged small businesses and frustrated families are begging for an end to Sydney lockdowns that are destroying lives - and cafe owner Ron Danieli (pictured) warned: 'It's like Chernobyl out there'
Lawyer Yujin Chung, 43, mother of two children aged six and three, added: 'People are getting sick of this.
'I have to do my work, supervise online learning and look after my little one at home without any help.
'No childcare, home learning and no family help - it's going to be really difficult.'
Café owner Ron Danieli, 49, already fears things have gone too far, saying: 'I don't think we will ever recover from this. It's killing small business and the middle class.
'There is no one here - there are no tourists and no one coming into the city to work. It's like Chernobyl out there.'
Paddington mum Paula Vass with daughter Charlotte and husband Andrew (pictured left) admitted trying to work from home and juggle home schooling was hard. Family jewellers Natasha Ree , daughter Laila and father Jason (pictured above right) have made just four sales this year but can't afford to shut in case they lose their specialised staff
He has already closed two of his three cafes in the wake of the pandemic and now works alone at his remaining outlet in The Rocks.
'It will take us a year to get back up again,' he said. 'We tried to keep our staff here, we tried to do all things right.
'But who wants to go back into a job when you keep getting closed down? They're going to find another job in another industry, not in hospitality.'
The Cafe Danieli owner says he's watched on as shops around him close and the owners just walk away, unable to keep things going in the current crisis.
'We lost 30 percent of shops in the first lockdown and we're seeing another 30 per cent go in this one. Suddenly we have 60 per cent fewer businesses,' he said.
He's infuriated by big firms such as Harvey Norman holding onto $22million in JobKeeper payments, despite record profits, while small businesses go bust.
Cafe owner Ron Danieli, 49, (pictured) already fears things have gone too far. He has already closed two of his three cafes in the wake of the pandemic and now works alone at his remaining outlet in The Rocks
'The ones in the middle don't have the cash flow, don't have the help, they don't have the staff,' he said. 'There's no plan to this, no consultation. We need solutions.
'They need to target the aid they give.'
The toll goes beyond financial woes though, he said.
He added: 'It takes a
