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LOCKDOWN ENDS, LOCALS WARY Time will tell if we can ‘return to normal’
By JOHN RYAN
MANY local businesses have opted to remain closed until December 1 rather than have to police whether the customers entering their premises are double-vaxxed. Meantime, many locals told Dubbo Photo News they’ll see how the number of cases pans out in coming weeks before believing
Native plants grow into a social nest PAGE 14 ❱❱
Knife threat By JOHN RYAN A 32-YEAR-OLD man who was threatened with a knife while leaving a Windsor Parade service station at about 10am on Tuesday, October 12, has sparked a police appeal for information into the incident. Police say the staff member threw a drink at the armed man before he fled on foot through the medical centre car park towards Wheelers Lane. The alleged assailant is described as being Aboriginal/ Torres Strait Islander appearance, mid-late teens, about 170cm tall with black hair and wearing a black jacket with a hooded jumper, grey trackpants and a black bandana face covering. Anyone with information or dashcam footage is urged to contact Dubbo police or Crimestoppers on 1300 333 000. ›› MORE NEWS: P19
things can ever return to normal. That’s the uncertainty underlying Dubbo’s short-term future as businesses such as pubs, clubs, barbers and cafes open up after more than two months of lockdown, with stories such as a Walgett baby just a few months’ old being diagnosed with Covid-19 overshadowing the spectre of ‘freedom’. Many businesspeople ap-
proached by Dubbo Photo News said they were cautiously hopeful that things would gradually improve and life would return to some sort of normality as 2021 runs into the Christmas period. As Dubbo Photo News went to print the latest statistics from NSW Health (up to 8pm on Tuesday, October 12) showed 14 new cases of Covid-19 had been detected in the Western NSW Local
Health District in the previous 24 hours. There were no news cases in Dubbo but two in Wellington, both infectious in the community. Nine of the new cases are known to be linked to previously confirmed cases, nine patients were admitted to hospital across the health district, with one in intensive care. Walgett recorded eight new
cases, five of which were infectious in the community. Orange and Bathurst both recorded single cases and fragments of Covid were detected in the sewerage at Brewarrina, Gulgong and Oberon. In the Dubbo Regional Council area, 126 people are currently receiving care, with 87 people having been discharged from care in the period from October 6 to 13.
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FIVE By NATALIE LEWIS SOME people get pets as therapy, others view them as good companions. For Dubbo’s Annette Ferguson, it’s a combination of both these factors and more. She shares her home with guide dog Leo, retired guide dog Delta, her daughter’s dog Kida and cats Rax and Banna. “I’ve got five of them so it’s a busy nest. I loved having kids and I always wanted a big family,” she laughs. “I wanted 3-4 kids so I’ve got a big furry family instead.” Read more about Annette’s journey with her pets inside this edition. ›› STORY: P10
PHOTO: DUBBO PHOTO NEWS/ STEVE COWLEY
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