To protect the people of NSW from the evolving COVID-19 outbreak, new restrictions will be introduced for the Orange City Council, Blayney Shire Council, and Cabonne Shire Council areas until 12.01am Wednesday July 28.

Following updated health advice will apply to all people who live in these areas, or have been there on or after Saturday July 17.

Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason. These include:
• Shopping for food or other essential goods and services;
• Medical care or compassionate needs (people can leave home to have a COVID-19 vaccination unless you have been identified as a close contact);
• Exercise outdoors in groups of 2 or fewer (unless members of the same household);
• Work, or tertiary education, where you cannot work or study from home.
• To attend a wedding or a funeral (but only during the grace period, which ends at 12:01am on Friday 23 July 2021). After this date, funerals will be limited to ten people.
• Schools will remain open, under Level 3 restrictions. All staff and students are still expected to be at school.
• Masks must be worn indoors (not including the home) and in outdoor settings where you cannot socially distance from others (e.g. while queuing for takeaway).
• COVID-19 testing clinics are open at Bathurst, Orange, Parkes, Blayney and Molong.

For more information on rules and restrictions for the Blayney, Cabonne and Orange local government areas visit: www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules/affected-regions

Member for Riverina Michael McCormack has welcomed the Federal Government’s formal establishment of a Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide to be led by former New South Wales Police Deputy Commissioner Mr Nick Kaldas APM.

“Sadly, the Riverina and Central West, as with all communities and regions throughout Australia, has been affected by suicides among Australian Defence Force members and veterans, so this development is a good outcome,” Mr McCormack said.

Mr McCormack praised the work of former Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Darren Chester, who led consultation on the Terms of Reference for the Royal Commission, assisted by the Attorney-General, Senator Michaelia Cash.

More than 3000 pieces of feedback were received during the consultation period between 19 April 2021 and 21 May. “I think this large number of submissions reflects the community’s intense interest in this most important issue,” Mr McCormack said.

“We owe a debt to those who have served or who are serving our nation in the defence forces to find why there is this unacceptably high rate of self-harm and to put in place measures to reduce the risks.” Mr McCormack said Mr Kaldas was a good choice as Royal Commissioner. As NSW Police Deputy Commissioner, Mr Kaldas commanded about 14,000 staff and a budget of more than $2 billion.

Further information on the Royal Commission, including how to make a submission – https://defenceveteransuicide.royalcommission.gov.au. The Royal Commission is due to provide an interim report on 11 August 2022 and a final report on 15 June 2023.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said this week that the lockdown pain is set to continue until the number of COVID cases in the state is “close to zero”.

The number of COVID cases has steadily climbed throughout the past week from single figures the first week of July to 112 locally acquired infections in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm Sunday July 11. A third of those were still active in the community.

Despite well over 100,000 tested in NSW in the past week at the time of publication, a multi-media advertising blitz, multiple testing sites, numerous vaccine centres, a plethora of online information and a strong emergency services presence, it seems many are still not getting the message. The Premier was at pains to get the edict across.

“If you have symptoms, your first stop should be a COVID test, and stay home until you get a result”.

She said in the coming weeks, NSW will have mass vaccination hubs across many regions – expanding the ability for people to access the vaccine.

“Overwhelmingly, we don’t want people to leave home unless they absolutely have to,” she said.

Forbes Shire Council would like to reassure the community Forbes’ water supply is safe to drink and comfortably meets Australian Drinking Water Guidelines.

“Recent reports have circulated back to Council regarding broken kettles due to water calcification problems in the Forbes area,” said Forbes Shire Mayor Phyllis Miller OAM.

“It is far from being dangerous to our health I can guarantee you, the dissolved minerals actually are beneficial for those consuming the water,” she said.

“Council has been accessing the town water supply from our Bore fields since March 2021 to enable our Water Filtration Plant to undergo necessary upgrades. We anticipate to switch back to river water in October 2021 once the upgrades are complete. The public may not have noticed any change to taste as our water technicians monitor our water several times a day to ensure the water is safe and treated to the best possible levels. In addition to manual testing, Forbes also has multiple online an-alysers ensuring it is safe to drink.”

NSW has reached a major milestone in its fight against COVID-19, with more than six million tests conducted since the beginning of the pandemic almost 500 days ago.

More than 3.5 million people have been tested for COVID-19 in NSW, with almost 1.4 million people being tested more than once.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the NSW community should be very proud of this milestone.

“As recent events show, COVID-19 can re-emerge at any time, even after lengthy periods of defences against COVID-19 as they allow us to detect new cases early and prevent further transmission,” Dr Chant said.

“NSW has one of the highest COVID-19 testing rates in the world and reaching six million tests reflects the fantastic efforts of the people of NSW since the beginning of this pandemic,” she said.

“I want to sincerely thank everyone in NSW who has come forward and been tested and urge you to continue to do so – if you have even the mildest of symptoms it is so important you come forward and get tested.”

Of the 3,514,483 people who have taken COVID-19 tests in NSW, 61 per cent (2,138,516) were tested once, with 39 per cent (1,375,967 people) tested on multiple occasions. More than 52,000 people have been tested five or more times.

People in the 30 to 39 year age group accounted for the highest number of tests (1,077,602, 18 percent of all tests), followed by those aged 20 to 29 (923,657 tests, 15 percent) and those aged 40 to 49 (855,231 tests, 14 percent).

There are more than 300 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW. To find your nearest clinic, visit: www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/how-to-protect-yourself-and-others/clinics or contact your GP.

People with a disability, their families and their carers discovered how they could tell their story at the Disability Royal Commission. Lawyers from Your Story Disability Legal Support are coming to Forbes next week to help people tell their disability.

Your Story solicitor Rachael Vincent said the service was created to support people with a disability, their families, carers, supporters and advocates. “We understand there are many people with a disability who may want to share their stories with the Royal Commission,” she said.

“People can share all kinds of experiences with the Royal Commission. This could include negative experiences, or ideas about how we can create a more inclusive society for all.”

“But we also understand that many are worried if they do, their lives may be made worse. That may be through discrimination, or changes to the delivery of their essential services by people who may still be involved in their care. We’re here to empower people to be able to share their stories safely.”

Your Story Disability Legal Support is a joint initiative between National Legal Aid and National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services, set up to give legal support and advice to people wanting to share their stories with the Royal Commission.

Local staff from Legal Aid NSW and Aboriginal Legal Services NSW/ACT, who know the community and local issues, provide the services on the ground in Forbes.

All of the stories gathered in Forbes will inform the Disability Roy-al Commissions final report, which is expected to be presented to the federal government in the second half of 2022.

The report will make recommendations about how we can make changes to improve the lives of people with disability and empower everyone to live safely and participate equally in society.

For more information contact 1800 77 1800 or go to www.yourstorydisabilitylegal.org.au

The Forbes Shire Council fundraiser for Ronald McDonald House Charities Orange held last night was an outstanding success with a strong turn-out by locals.

“All funds raised on the evening will remain in Orange to directly support families from Forbes and other areas of the central and far west who come to stay at the house in Orange while seeking specialist and life-saving treatment for their baby, child or adolescent,” said Ronald McDonald House Media Representative Janice Harris.

“Since the house in Orange opened, 77 families from Forbes have stayed at no cost for a total of 301 nights,” Janice said.

“They have been supported with a range of services including emergency meals, toiletries, and new toys, activities and books for the child in hospital.”

In total, 838 families from the central and far west have stayed at the house in Orange for a total of 6,795 nights free of charge.

Wear Red Day began four years ago as an initiative of the Principal of Denison College in Bathurst, Ken Barwick.

“Can’t wait for 2022!”

Last week a new collaborative health care model built on a community-based response was launched for Forbes and other centres throughout the Central West.

Forbes will join other regions in the trial to find innovative solutions to local healthcare problems with an investment of $5 million from the Australian Government to support what the communities come up with. The other regions are Parkes, Tullamore, Trangie, Tottenham, Trundle, Canowindra, Snowy Valley and Wentworth.

Regional experts, including the NSW Rural Doctors Network, the Western NSW Local Health District and the Western NSW Primary Health Network are working closely with local councils, community and health professionals to design an innovative solution.

The difference with this approach to traditional health workforce solutions that focus on individual towns, is the focus will be on sub-regions to address healthcare access issues.

“By servicing multiple towns, there is an opportunity to achieve economies of scale, create sustainable practices and provide better access to primary health services for rural and remote Australians,” said Deputy Prime Minister and member for Riverina Michael McCormack at the launch.

“The aim is to demonstrate how new and flexible approaches can address workforce shortages in the bush and find sustainable ways of delivering services across a number of smaller, connected rural communities,” said Federal Regional Health Minister, Mark Coulton.

“The challenge of delivering health services in small communities is well known, and it is clear the existing one-size-fits-all approach isn’t working for everyone.” The CEO of the Rural Doctors Network, Richard Colbran agreed, and believes the days of a doctor settling into a town for 40 years were gone.

“The aim with the new model would be to get doctors to stay for at least five years,” said Richard.

“That would allow patients to build a relationship with their GP.”