NSW Covid update: 344 cases reported, large region of western NSW locked down and tougher restrictions flagged

Indigenous leaders in remote locked-down communities say they are very worried for the elders and their families'

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The Covid crisis in New South Wales has deepened with eight local government areas stretching across the western part of the state forced into a hastily announced seven-day lockdown.

Expectations are also rising that tougher restrictions will be announced in greater Sydney in coming days after there were 344 local Delta cases reported on Wednesday, close to the peak of the day before. Of the new cases, 101 were in the community for part or all of their infectious period, while the isolation status of another 100 remained under investigation.