Sydney announces new lockdown measures for New Year’s Eve - but fireworks to go ahead
Australia is battling a worsening outbreak after over three months of successfully containing the virus
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Your support makes all the difference.Australia has announced tougher restrictions ahead of new year celebrations, as the country witnesses a fresh spike in Covid-19 infections.
On Wednesday, the New South Wales government announced further restrictions for New Year's Eve after Christmas festivities saw a new cluster of cases emerge in the state. It recorded 18 locally acquired cases, including the Avalon cluster in Sydney’s inner west, along with infections from Wollongong.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, announcing the tightened restrictions, said: “We don't want New Year's Eve to be the cause of a super-spreader [event]."
According to the new rules, households will now be restricted to only five guests from Thursday, down from the previous 10-person limit. Outdoor gathering numbers have also been cut to 30 from 50. Sydney’s worst affected region, the Northern Beaches, has been put under lockdown.
Australia is battling a worsening outbreak after more than three months of having successfully contained the virus. The country has recorded over 28,000 cases so far, with the peak in infections coming in August.
Sydney, the capital of NSW, saw 147 new cases on Wednesday, while the neighbouring state of Victoria announced three infections – its first cases in two months.
The new clusters of cases have seen other states ban entry of Sydney residents, with several airlines cancelling flights.
Plans for the Sydney fireworks display, the country’s biggest annual New Year’s Eve event, so far remain in place, however no gatherings will be allowed in the city and Australians have been urged to view the display on TV from home.
The country initially planned to allow 5,000 frontline workers to watch Sydney’s fireworks from the foreshore. However, Ms Berejiklian said the government has now cancelled those plans, saying that having so many frontline workers from Sydney and other regions gathered together was “too much of a health risk”.
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