Nightclubs will soon reopen across NSW under changes made to the Covid-19 exit roadmap – but individuals will have to wait over a month until they can dance in the venues again.
The new NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced on Thursday that nightclubs will be able to operate from the Monday after the state hits the 80 per cent double vaccination milestone, which is expected to be October 18 or October 25.
But as part of the rules set out by the state government, only double-vaccinated adults will be able to enjoy the nightclubs.
Patrons at the club will also have to remain seated while drinking the entire time and no dancing is allowed.
The new NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced on Thursday that nightclubs will be able to operate from the Monday after the state hits the 80 per cent double vaccination milestone (Pictured: Mark Ronson playing at Marquee Nightclub in Sydney)
Individuals will have to wait until December 1 for dancing to be permitted once nightclubs are able to hold a capacity of one person per four square metres.
The opening of nightclubs was brought forward by over six weeks as previous Premier Gladys Berejiklian had scheduled for the venues to remain closed until December 1.
The acceleration of the transition to living with the virus came as Mr Perrottet met with the crisis cabinet late on Wednesday to discuss the matters after the state passed the 70 per cent double-dose vaccination milestone.
As part of the rules set out in the state government’s road map, patrons at the club will have to remain seated the entire time while drinking and no dancing is allowed (stock image)
The Premier announced several other changes to the state’s Covid-19 roadmap on Thursday such as the return of all school students to the classroom in just two weeks.
The revisions will allow Kindergarten, Year 1, Year 2 and Year 12 to return to school on Monday October 18, with all students back in the classroom by October 25.
Limits on numbers at household gatherings and weddings and funerals for the fully vaccinated will also be double what was promised by his predecessor Gladys Berejiklian.
Up to 10 residents excluding children will be allowed to gather inside homes across the state, and as many as 100 permitted to attend weddings and funerals.
Indoor swimming pools will also be able to open for swimming lessons, training and rehabilitation activities.
NSW’S LOCKDOWN ROADMAP: THE CHANGES
These apply to people who are fully vaccinated.
FROM OCTOBER 11:
* Indoor gatherings capped at 10 people (up from five)
* Outdoor gatherings capped at 30 people (up from 20)
* Weddings and funerals capped at 100 people (up from 50)
* Indoor swimming pools to reopen
* Workers in regional areas can return to their workplace if they’ve had one vaccination, but must be fully jabbed by November 1
FROM OCTOBER 25, AFTER NSW HITS 80 PER CENT DOUBLE-DOSE COVERAGE:
* Indoor gatherings capped at 20 people
* Outdoor gatherings capped at 50 people
* Ticketed outdoor events capped at 3000 people
* Nightclubs can reopen (no dancing)
* Masks no longer have to be worn in office buildings
CHANGES TO THE BACK-TO-SCHOOL PLAN:
* Kindergarten, Year One and Year 12 return on October 18
* All other years return on October 25
When the 80 per cent vaccination rate is passed, expected late this month, restrictions will ease further.
This includes a cap of 3,000 people for controlled and ticketed outdoor events.
Mandatory mask use will also be ditched in office buildings in an attempt to encourage workers back into the Sydney CBD, which is crucial to the survival of city businesses.
These freedoms will only be restored for the fully vaccinated on December 1.
‘We have always said that vaccination is the key to our freedom and the sacrifices and the effort of people right across NSW have ensured that we can open up as quickly and safely as possible,’ Mr Perrottet said on Thursday.
‘This is not just a health crisis, it’s an economic crisis too.’
Greater Sydney will emerge from 15 weeks of lockdown on Monday when gyms, cafes, restaurants, shops, hairdressers and beauticians will reopen and people will be allowed to venture more than five kilometres from home.
Mr Perrottet said he would be calling other premiers on Thursday with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk a priority.
Regional lockdowns will be extended until Monday for a number of areas including Oberon, Snowy Monaro and Menindee and Sunset Strip in the Central Darling Shire.
From Monday double-jabbed Sydneysiders will no longer have to follow the 5km radius rule and will be able to travel outside their LGA as long as they remain within greater Sydney.
Travel into regional NSW has been pushed back to when the state hits 80 per cent full vaccination.
Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 12 will now return to school on Monday October 18, with students in all year groups back on-site by October 25
Sydney couple Tahi Cody and Matt Hayward tie the knot at Taronga Zoo in Sydney on Valentines Day 2021. The limit on household gatherings, weddings and funerals for the fully vaccinated will also be double what was promised by Premier Dominic Perrottet’s predecessor
Mr Perrottet has unveiled major changes to his roadmap out of lockdown in one of his first acts as state leader
Pictured is a resident in Sydney’s Waverley local government area living under lockdown rules. Mandatory mask use will be ditched in office buildings in an attempt to encourage workers back into the Sydney CBD
There are currently 7,868 active cases in the state – 30 per cent of how many there were a month ago.
Of those 911 are in hospital (11.58 per cent of cases), 188 are in ICU and 93 are breathing through a ventilator.
Case numbers are expected to rise once lockdown measures are eased and people start to mingle and move across the city, but overseas experience indicates the number of hospitalisations and deaths will only increase marginally.
A group enjoy a picnic at the Museum of Contemporary Art Lawn in Sydney on September 25
On his first full day on the job Dominic Perrottet (pictured with Chris Hemsworth) has already started tinkering with NSW roadmap out of Covid lockdown allowing kid’s swimming lessons at indoors pools to go ahead from Monday
Newly-appointed NSW premier Dominic Perrottet broke the long-awaited news the state had reached its vaccination target on social media
Pubs, restaurants, cafes, hairdressers and retail stores all set to throw open their doors from next week with some capacity limits (pictured, customers at Sydney Opera House before lockdown)
It has been a gruelling time for NSW residents and particularly Sydneysiders who’ve been living under harsh stay-at-home measures for 15 weeks following June’s Bondi cluster (pictured, Sydney’s Coogee Bay Hotel before lockdown)
Another significant change is the scrapping of daily press conferences, with Covid numbers now set to be released online at 9am each morning by NSW Health.
Millions of NSW residents have been living under harsh stay-at-home measures for 15 weeks following June’s outbreak, which began with an infected airport driver.
At the height of the Delta outbreak in August there were almost 1,600 daily infections, but that figure has now fallen to below 600 in October as vaccinations rates have skyrocketed.
Outdoor recreation facilities including stadiums, racecourses, theme parks and zoos can reopen under the one person per 4sqm with a cap of 5,000 people.
Concert venues outside can also go ahead with a cap with up to 500 people, who must remain seated.
But anyone heading to these events or to pubs, restaurants, cafes, gyms, retails stores and personal services like hairdressers, will need to prove their vaccination status by scanning in with QR code.
Vaccine passports have been a hot political topic in Australia and throughout the world, but Down Under the business community has been a major driver behind the idea, seeing it as a ticket to freedom and an answer to the relentless cycle of lockdowns that have crippled their establishments.
Under the NSW system, anyone who has received both jabs is issued with a commonwealth-assigned vaccination certificate through Medicare.
In order to enter a venue, a person would simply flash the certificate or scan in with a QR code to prove they’ve had the jab.
Revised roadmap to freedom: All the changes for fully vaccinated NSW residents after hitting 70% jab target
Former 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 ten visitors will be allowed in a home where all adults are vaccinated (not including children 12 and under).
· Up to 30 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.
· Indoor swimming pools open for lessons, squad training, lap swimming and rehab activities only
Weddings, funerals and places of worship
· Up to 100 guests can attend weddings, with dancing permitted and eating and drinking only while seated.
· Up to 100 guests can attend funerals, with eating and drinking while seated.
· For those not fully vaccinated lower caps of 5 and ten apply for weddings and funerals.
· Churches and places of worship to open subject to one person per 4sqm rule, with performers exempt from ban on singing.
· Ten person cap on choirs in places of worship and at religious services, with all performers to be fully vaccinated
Travel
· The 5km radius will be dropped but Sydneysiders can only travel within greater Sydney – including the Central Coast, Wollongong and Blue Mountains.
· 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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