'States can’t keep going into lockdown every time there’s a few cases': Perrottet

New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet says states can’t keep going into lockdown every time there’s a few cases because the impacts on businesses could be more severe than the problem lockdowns seek to combat.

Mr Perrottet said NSW is not planning to declare Melbourne a hotspot any time soon in response to the Holiday Inn cluster which has grown to 13 cases.

“Look, it’s a concern, but we’ve got to be balanced about this and have a perspective,” he told Sky News.

“There are going to be over the course of this year and into the future, cases occur - there will be outbreaks from time to time, but we’ve got to have a measured response to that.

“We can’t just keep going into lockdown every single time there’s a few cases because the downstream impacts on businesses and confidence across the board will proportionately be more severe than the problem we’re trying to tackle”.