State and territory leaders are increasingly concerned about the dire coronavirus situation in NSW with infections bleeding out of Sydney.
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NSW chalked up another grim record of 390 new local cases on Friday, while two people died from the disease.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian expects the trend to continue in coming days with infections surging in her state's capital.
There are also fears about the virus spreading in the state's west after 25 new cases were detected in the Dubbo region.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison will on Friday chair a national cabinet meeting of premiers and chief ministers with more than 12 million Australians in lockdown.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called for a clear containment plan from the NSW government.
She holds serious concerns about expanding clusters in regional NSW and Sydney.
"The last thing we want to see is this virus spread north, the virus spread south, and spread across the nation," Ms Palaszczuk said.
"It's absolutely imperative that New South Wales contains this virus."
Canberra is expecting its coronavirus outbreak will rise from four cases after the ACT woke up to its first morning of lockdown.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr questioned if the NSW government was briefing media behind the scenes about opening up at lower vaccine rates than agreed in national cabinet.
Mr Barr said he understood NSW's official stance was not to dramatically unwind lockdown with hundreds of daily cases.
"That is a crazy position but it would be open to them to make some minor adjustments to their lockdown settings," he told the ABC.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has repeatedly urged Ms Berejiklian to erect a "ring of steel" around Sydney to stop the disease escaping the city.
His state recorded 15 new cases including four mystery infections on Friday, the third consecutive day of unlinked transmission.
Leaders have set a goal of 70 per cent vaccination before some restrictions can start to be eased and 80 per cent for a major step forward in reopening.
National cabinet will receive an update on the vaccine rollout, the spread of the virus and the pandemic exit plan.
Australia has vaccinated 24.36 per cent of its population aged 16 and above with 14.5 million doses administered.
Businesses in coronavirus hotspots will be on safer legal ground to mandate vaccines but the prospect of court challenges remain despite new advice.
The Fair Work Ombudsman has released updated information for employers after the federal government rejected calls to indemnify businesses.
The ombudsman says in areas where no community transmission has occurred for some time, a direction to employees to be vaccinated is less likely to be considered reasonable
For businesses that need to remain open during lockdowns, community transmission makes mandatory workplace vaccinations more likely to be reasonable.
Australian Associated Press
