7 AUGUST 2020
ISSUE 254
REAL INDEPENDENT LOCAL WEEKLY NEWS
News
Bouddi Booby Trap
Central Coast Council and the State Government will work together on a longterm solution for erosion issues at Wamberal Beach. See page 6
Out&About
Shadow Minister for the Central Coast David Harris has ramped up his call for a Mountain Bike Plan of Management for the region following the discovery of a booby trap in Bouddi National Park last weekend.
Bringing a glimmer of hope, nine adorable koala joeys have been born at the Australian Reptile Park... See page 17
Health
Brisbane Water Police have launched an investigation into the discovery of a piece of wood holding a row of upright nails found hidden beneath leaves on a popular trail in the park, which is thought to have been set to target mountain bike riders. Continued page 4
Premier “strongly recommends” masks in NSW NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the next few weeks will “make or break” the state in its battle to keep COVID-19 under control as she issued a strong recommendation for the use of face masks in public spaces on Sunday. Stopping short of making mask wearing compulsory, Berejiklian urged residents to cover up their faces when grocery shopping, using public transport, attending places of worship and when in areas of high community transmission. She also encouraged any workers in “staff facing” environments, including in the hospitality and retail sectors, to wear masks. “We are holding the line but we are at a critical phase of the pandemic,” Berejiklian said. She said while the situation
remained critical in Victoria, it was vital for NSW to say ahead of the game. “No border is impenetrable and while we are doing okay with our high rates of testing and observing social distancing, we must continue to maintain a good balance between keeping people safe and going about our daily lives,” she said. The Premier said she herself would be wearing a mask while shopping and in any enclosed environment. One of the first people to take the Premier’s advice on board was Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who posted a photograph of himself donning a mask to go shopping in Sydney on Sunday on Instagram. “Had to pop out to pick up a few things here in Sydney, so followed the NSW Premier’s advice announced earlier today (and put a mask on in the
car before heading into the shops),” Morrison posted. Woolworths pre-empted the Premier’s plea by issuing a statement late last week saying that from August 3, all customers would be urged to wear a mask when shopping at Woolworths Supermarkets, Woolworths Metro Food Stores, BIG W, Dan Murphy’s, BWS and ALH Hotels. “Masks and face coverings are a powerful and highly visible symbol that COVID-19 is very much still with us,” a statement from Woolworths said. “While wearing a face covering is not mandatory in NSW, we feel it’s important that collectively we make face coverings feel as normal as possible and do whatever we can to help reduce community transmission of COVID-19. Continued page 5
A Central Coast family is throwing its support behind Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Northern NSW’s first ever Raise Love-a-thon. See page 33
Sport
The Central Coast Roosters have recorded three wins on the trot in NSWRL’s elite women’s competition with a solid 20-4 victory... See page 40
Puzzles page 23
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