Shellharbour and the Central Coast will be classified as regional NSW under the updated public health order and could be freed from lockdown as early as next weekend, several weeks before Wollongong.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said the decision to keep Wollongong under Greater Sydney but release Shellharbour did not "stack up", and reinforced a years-long struggle to have the city regarded as a regional area.

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Cr Bradbery said he had made representations to the NSW government on behalf of Wollongong, but any lifting of restrictions here had to be done safely.

Wollongong had a lot of connections to Sydney through workers and industry, he said, and the city had to be more guarded compared to Shellharbour.

Cr Bradbery said his highest priority was keeping the community safe.

Business Illawarra has called for Wollongong and the Shellharbour to be treated equally.

"Wollongong LGA has had a consistently lower COVID case load than the Central Coast, most recently reporting 12 cases while there are 31 cases active on the Central Coast, showing that our businesses and residents are playing by the rules. We should not be locked down until the end of September," executive director Adam Zarth said.

Mr Zarth said Wollongong also had a higher vaccination rate than the Central Coast, as well as a smaller commuting workforce going to and from Sydney.

Keira MP Ryan Park and Wollongong MP Paul Scully also spoke out against the measure and called for Wollongong to be reclassified too, given its low case numbers.

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"We have not had community transmission. The reward for this effort is splitting a region that has always functioned as one," Mr Scully said.

Meanwhile, Member for Shellharbour Anna Watson and Kiama MP Gareth Ward have welcomed Shellharbour's removal from Greater Sydney, but voiced concern about Wollongong not being separated too.

Kim Kelly is the co-owner of Oh Dang! Espresso, a Windang cafe just over the bridge from the Shellharbour LGA.

Mrs Kelly said Shellharbour and Wollongong were one, and it was annoying to have customers able to eat with competitors across the water when Shellharbour was out of lockdown while her cafe remained limited.

She understood why lockdown was necessary, but said the separation was a "bit of a farce".

However, Mrs Kelly said her customers had been "fantastic" throughout lockdown.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the regional NSW line was redrawn to limit the 50-kilometre buffer around Greater Sydney in which travel permits were not required.

"Wollongong, as we all accept, its interconnectivity with Sydney is significant, and that's why Wollongong has always been treated as greater metro Sydney," Mr Barilaro said.

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But he did not rule out yesterday the possibility of the government reassessing Wollongong's status in future.

"I think there can be consideration for Wollongong at a point in time, but it won't be a point in time aligned with regional and rural NSW, I think that's a decision that we'll have to make as a separate issue entirely," Mr Barilaro said.

While lockdown in regional NSW is scheduled to end on August 28, chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said this would depend on the level of risk.

"Ultimately, we may still decide that the risk is in Shellharbour, and the advice [is] that they remain in lockdown," Dr Chant said.

As of Friday, Shellharbour had eight active COVID-19 cases while Wollongong had six.

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