On Wednesday July 14 the State of Origin NRL is slated to be played at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle, to a crowd of 20,000 fans. This is during a pandemic and when areas little more than 50kms away from our city have had their lockdown extended by another week as the highly infectious Delta strain of coronavirus continues to circulate within their communities.

In Australia most people are unvaccinated. Newcastle and the Hunter region have remained virus free during the latest lockdown period because we have taken the safety advice seriously.

It is becoming increasingly evident from experience overseas that the unvaccinated are particularly at risk of serious illness and death from this disease. It is impossible to guarantee that it won't be unknowingly brought to our community. All it takes is one infectious person to begin a spread of illness.

We don't want large crowds gathering in our community. We don't want to risk our health and safety. Please play the game without spectators and broadcast it live so everyone can enjoy it from the safety of their homes.