Lockdown ENDS for two regional NSW towns from midnight after snap restrictions were put in place
- Albury and Lismore will see respective lockdowns lifted on Wednesday night
- Stay at home orders issued last week, authorities now believe it is under control
- On Wednesday, NSW recorded 1035 new coronavirus cases and five deaths
Current lockdown orders for two regional NSW towns will be officially lifted from midnight on Wednesday.
The stay-at-home orders were introduced last week for the Albury and Lismore LGAs.
In a statement, NSW Health ‘thanked the communities of Albury and Lismore for their co-operation and for coming forward for (Covid) testing in large numbers.’
Both LGAs will continue to operate under some restrictions in a bid to ensure community safety.
The development comes as NSW edges closer to more easing of restrictions – despite recording 1035 new coronavirus cases and five deaths on Wednesday.
Current lockdown orders for regional NSW towns Albury and Lismore will be officially lifted from midnight on Wednesday (pictured, people lining up to be Covid tested in Lismore recently)
Stay-at-home orders were introduced last week for the Albury and Lismore Local Government Areas (pictured, police conducting state border checks at Albury)
The state remains on track to hit its 70 per cent double jab target in the first week of October, with 54.2 per cent of eligible residents now fully vaccinated.
A quarter of NSW students aged between 12-15 have also now received at least one jab as they prepare to return to the classroom within weeks.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian assured the vaccine passport will be ready with a two week test run of the initiative in regional NSW ahead of the state reopening at 70 per cent.
Discussions also continue about what life will looks when the state hits the 80 per cent double dose target.
‘When we hit 70 per cent double dose, irrespective of when it is, (we’ll be) ready to roll out that vaccine passport,’ she said.
‘I want to assure the business community that the NSW will have a similar compliance regime to before the Delta outbreak.
‘It won’t be different to what it was beforehand but we’ll remind everybody was expectations to ensure that’s the case.
‘The government is also busily working on our 80 per cent road map which we expect to start implementing excitingly somewhere mid-October and we’ll know, obviously, closer to that time.’
More than nine million doses have been administrated across NSW while 83 per cent of over-16s have received at least one jab.
Ms Berejiklian also warned unvaccinated residents will miss out on new freedoms even after the state hits 80 per cent double dose.
‘At 80 per cent additional freedoms will be for those who are fully vaccinated,’ the Premier added.
Customer services minister Victor Dominello shared details on how vaccine passports will be integrated into the Service NSW app.
The state government is consulting with industry leaders to conduct a two week pilot of between 100-500 residents in Covid-free regional NSW areas from October 6.
‘We are now in the process of consulting industry in relation of the design of how it should work, and we’re pretty much there,’ Mr Dominello said.
‘But ultimately, we’re aiming to do a pilot in the regions commencing on October 6 for two weeks and then, hopefully, the subject of the pilot will be strong and, as a result of that, we can open up to the rest of the state.
‘This is, in many ways, about future-proofing for the people of NSW because even though we may be ahead of the other states, the other states may require vaccination status to be displayed so, if we get this right, it will enable freedom of movement right across Australia as well the months ahead.’
Vaccinated residents are urged to get their vaccine certificate via the Medicare express app or contact Australian Immunisation Register to receive a hard copy in the mail.
Daily infections climbed above 1,000 for a second day in a row on Wednesday
NSW remains on track to hit its 70 per cent double jab target in the first week of October with 54.2 per cent of eligible residents now fully vaccinated (pictured a pop up vaccination clinic)
The five fatalities on Wednesday take the death toll from the current NSW outbreak to 260.
They include a woman her 50s who died at home in western Sydney and tested positive after her death.
The other victims included an unvaccinated woman in her 50s who died at RPA, a person in their 60s, a person in their 70s and a fully vaccinated woman in her 80s from Wollongong who had underlying health conditions.
Around 1232 patients cases are being treated in hospital with 242 in ICU.
The Sydney suburbs of Greenacre, Guildford, Bankstown, Revesby, Merrylands, Fairfield, Liverpool, Condell Park, Auburn and Blacktown remain areas of concern for health officials.
The Byron, Tweed and Kempsey regions were plunged into a snap seven day lockdown on Tuesday after a Covid-19 positive essential worker flew from Sydney to Ballina on Saturday and was active in the community.
The fully vaccinated authorised worker was working for the company filming the TV series ‘I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!’.
Vaccination in the Tweed is below the state average with 71.7 per cent of people getting a first dose, while 45 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Unvaccinated residents will miss out of new freedoms even after NSW reaches its 80 per cent double dose target (pictured vaccinated Sydneysiders enjoying a picnic)
NSW is on track to hit its 70 per cent double jab target earlier than estimated with 54 per cent of over-16s now fully vaccinated
The vast majority of Sydney’s frustrated construction workers are also set to get the green light to return to work from next Monday.
From Monday, NSW will ease all capacity limits on construction sites while retaining the ‘four square metre’ density rule.
The industry has been working at 50 per cent capacity, with vaccination requirements for workers from the 12 local government areas of concern.
The state government also announced a ‘friends bubble’ for under-18s, where kids can visit each other in groups of three.
Health minister Brad Hazzard conceded concerns remain about the potential for unvaccinated children to transmit the virus, but said the decision came down to a need for a balancing act.
‘The strict epidemiological view would be we all should stay somewhere away from everybody else forever, but the mental health issues and other socialisation issues and the fact that we’re human beings means there has to be a balance,’ he said on Tuesday.
The NSW government is also looking at restrictions surrounding other visitations such as loved ones in aged care.
‘I think the aged care is a huge issue for us and all of us want to visit, there would be few of us who wouldn’t have somebody in an aged care facility that we wouldn’t want to visit,’ Mr Hazzard said.
‘There obviously has to some safeguards in that regard. It comes down largely to the advice given to the aged care facilities to keep the virus out.’
Additionally, the resumption of community sport is currently being discussed.
One in 10 community sports clubs in Australia fear they will not survive beyond the pandemic, according to new research from the Australian Sports Foundation.
Australia’s biggest state was hoping to reach the critical vaccination milestone in the middle of next month, and open up the following Monday.
In an interview with the Today Show on Tuesday, Deputy Premier John Barilaro confirmed ‘Freedom Day’ may be as early as October 11.
‘At this stage, it does look like it (the 70 per cent target) will happen just in the first week of October,’ Mr Barilaro told the program.
‘We said it’d be the Monday following. So, look, it’s very possible that it’s the 11th of October.
‘But definitely in the first or second week of October we’ll get the state open.’
The news is welcome relief to millions of residents in Sydney and surrounding regions desperate to be released from three months of lockdown.
Roadmap to freedom: All the changes for fully vaccinated NSW residents after hitting 70% jab target
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s freedom plan will kick off after the state hits 70 per cent of adults double dosed
Gatherings in the home and public spaces
· Up to five visitors will be allowed in a home where all adults are vaccinated (not including children 12 and under).
· Up to 20 people can gather in outdoor settings.
Venues including hospitality, retail stores and gyms
· Hospitality venues can reopen subject to one person per 4sqm inside and one person per 2sqm outside, with standing while drinking permitted outside.
· Retail stores can reopen under the one person per 4sqm rule (unvaccinated people will continue to only be able to access critical retail).
· Personal services such as hairdressers and nail salons can open with one person per 4sqm, capped at five clients per premises.
· Gyms and indoor recreation facilities can open under the one person per 4sqm rule and can offer classes for up to 20 people.
· Sporting facilities including swimming pools can reopen.
Stadiums, theatres and major outdoor recreation facilities
· Major recreation outdoor facilities including stadiums, racecourses, theme parks and zoos can reopen with one person per 4sqm, capped at 5,000 people.
· Up to 500 people can attend ticketed and seated outdoor events.
· Indoor entertainment and information facilities including cinemas, theatres, music halls, museums and galleries can reopen with one person per 4sqm or 75 per cent fixed seated capacity.
Weddings, funerals and places of worship
· Up to 50 guests can attend weddings, with dancing permitted and eating and drinking only while seated.
· Up to 50 guests can attend funerals, with eating and drinking while seated.
· Churches and places of worship to open subject to one person per 4sqm rule, with no singing.
Travel
· Domestic travel, including trips to regional NSW, will be permitted.
· Caravan parks and camping grounds can open.
· Carpooling will be permitted.
Non-vaccinated young people aged under 16 will be able to access all outdoor settings but will only be able to visit indoor venues with members of their household.
Employers must continue to allow employees to work from home if the employee is able to do so.
There will be revised guidance on isolation for close and casual contacts who are fully vaccinated, with details to be provided closer to the reopening date.
Masks
· Masks will remain mandatory for all indoor public venues, including public transport, front-of-house hospitality, retail and business premises, on planes and at airports.
· Only hospitality staff will be required to wear a mask when outdoors.
· Children aged under 12 will not need to wear a mask indoors.
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