South-west Sydney could face border controls on the M5 Motorway and a 'ring of steel' separating it from rest of the city if the area was 'ring-fenced' as part of emergency Covid measures.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned on Wednesday that three major council areas - Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Liverpool - could be hit with tougher restrictions amid troubling Covid transmission rates in the region.
The area takes in some 110 suburbs, is home to more than 820,000 residents and represents a 519 square kilometre swathe of the city, with further hotspots announced in the zone overnight.
The escalating crisis has raised the question: could the area be cut off from the rest of the city as the northern beaches was last December?
The danger zone: The NSW government has singled out three local government areas: Liverpool, Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown - as being sites for increased Covid transmission. Above, a graphic showing what it could look like if a localised lockdown came into force
Case numbers throughout the state have bounced around in recent days - peaking at 38 cases reported to the public on Thursday
University of Melbourne epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely said area lockdowns can work and worthy of serious consideration.
But they aren't effective in all situations. 'It's damn hard to do without natural boundaries,' Prof. Blakely told Daily Mail Australia.
The northern beaches lockdown only worked so well because of the area's unique geography, he added.
Known as Sydney's 'insular peninsula, the northern beaches region was cut off from the rest of the city at the beginning of the 2020 summer holidays, stopping a 151-strong outbreak from spreading throughout the metropolitan area.
However the beaches peninsula can only be reached by a handful of roads and ferry services. Meanwhile, Daily
