GREATER Lithgow, like the rest of regional NSW, is on a war footing in a battle against invisible enemy with no barriers... the Covid 19 Wars.
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And new battle lines are drawn in a largely unprecedented situation as residents from the Sydney/Blue Mountains lockdown zones continue to try their luck with intrusions into areas that have been Covid free for many months and want to keep it that way.
Despite blizzard conditions police maintained a checkpoint at Bowenfels throughout the weekend while mobile patrols carried out sweeps trying to keep us Covid free.
The $1000 fines are piling up but still they come and regional communities were shocked when three removalists headed for Molong last week, making a stop at the Donnybrook service station despite being aware they were Covid positive.
Even police were horrified at this level of callous disregard and the three now face the real possibility of jail time.
(The servo has since been deep cleaned).
Locals are well aware that Lithgow's last Covid detection was in April last year, traced back to a Sydney delivery driver at a local supermarket and the new upsurge in Victoria came from Sydney removalists.
Another Sydney escapee was nabbed at Rydal after being reported by locals and another in Lithgow's Main Street at a breath test stop..
Back to Victoria and no one should be surprised that an AFL game has become a major infection source. No obvious social distancing in wall to wall crowds, the same as allowed until recently in NSW rugby league and still in Queensland.
Seems footy income has to be protected while anyone else can head for Centrelink.
The flow on effect
THE downside to the lockdown to the east of us is the impact being felt by local businesses.
While clearly nowhere near the level of angst faced by lockdown weary Sydney and Mountains shopkeepers, the lack of (legal) visitors and through traffic at the present time is all too obvious.
One Hartley business operator told an ABC news team last week her losses from the closure are already estimated at over $100,000.
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Which obviously brings us to the bid by Hartley Progress Association to have the highway duplication through the valley diverted around both the valley and Lithgow to a Newnes Plateau route.
The column has previously commented on the impact that would have on highway frontage and CBD businesses in Lithgow. Now we are wondering what those always popular stops in the valley think of their progress association bid.
Shortfall
BACK a few years to the opening of the 'new' Lithgow Hospital the Mercury asked then Health Minister Dr Andrew Refshauge why there had been such a marked reduction in bed numbers in the move from Bridge Street's 'hospital on the hill'.
The reply was a seriously cynical '..do you think Lithgow's going to be a growth area?' Well, yes, and we still do.
But perhaps we should have paid more attention to the car park statistics. Finding a parking spot anywhere in the hospital grounds is a true challenge much of the time and it's clearly an aspect where government planners dropped the ball, just as they did with the Government Office Block in mid town Lithgow.
There's vacant land still in the vicinity so perhaps it's not too late - yet! (We have to admit it's better than the old hospital where there was no off street parking as such).
The Big Chill
YOU'RE right, it was a particularly nasty weekend with blizzard conditions, light snow and temperatures well down in single figures plunging below zero with the wind chill factor.
Well, the calendar doesn't lie and it was Mid Winter Week so we can't expect to sun bake. With the Solstice also out of the way and daylight hours creeping longer we can live in hope of better days ahead.
Just don't pack the thermals or hot water bottles away just yet.
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