BATHURST and Orange are set to be viewed in a similar light to Dubbo when it comes to lifting lockdown restrictions.
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Deputy premier John Barilaro reiterated on Monday that Dubbo would not be released from lockdown soon, putting other regional centres in the same basket.
He said crisis cabinet will meet on Wednesday to discuss which regional areas will come out of lockdown on September 10.
They will consider criteria such as the number of active cases, how many were active in the community while infectious, and their proximity to other local government areas with high numbers.
Areas that remain in lockdown may have other opportunities to come out, but there will be some that face a similar timeline to Sydney.
"I think we should give the regions the opportunity to come out at any time, especially those areas of low numbers, but if you ask me about Dubbo, Wilcannia, Broken Hill, the Central Darling and some of those Central West LGAs like Bathurst, for instance, Orange, which have got consistent cases, the reality here is they're never going to get back to zero, and they will continue to have cases, and they will be tied and locked in to what happens in Sydney until the 70 per cent double dose target is reached," Mr Barilaro said.
Bathurst and Orange have recorded around 30 cases each, while Dubbo is set to surpass 600 cases on Tuesday.
Mr Barilaro later clarified that it was possible for Bathurst and Orange to come out of lockdown before Dubbo, but the two LGAs were still of great concern.
"On a daily basis you have had consistent cases and some of those cases were cases in the community, so [Bathurst and Orange] are of concern and they will be treated accordingly," he said.
"No, they're not Dubbo. Dubbo's got no hope of coming out of lockdown. Has Bathurst and Orange got a chance? Very little, on the base numbers that are there today, by Wednesday, but possibly in the future, but we will measure all that on Wednesday."
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