Covid NSW: Indoor mask wearing, hospitality restrictions extended

NSW will keep Covid restrictions on indoor and hospitality venues in place even though they were expected to end on January 27 as Omicron cases remain high across NSW.

Masks are here to stay with Premier Dominic Perrottet to keep in place a raft of restrictions for the short-term as he focuses on getting kids back to school safely.

Mr Perrottet will make the announcement this morning, after NSW recorded 34 more deaths and 20,324 new Covid cases on Sunday.

There are 2712 infected people in hospitals across the state, with 189 in intensive care.

Almost 94 per cent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated.

Victoria recorded 13,091 cases and 14 deaths on Sunday.

Premier Dominic Perrottet gives a Covid updated for NSW for NSW. Picture: Jeremy Piper

While the hospitality and entertainment sector have been lobbying for a return of singing and dancing, the ban on these is expected to stay.

The government was forced to reintroduce restrictions it had controversially scrapped amid a surge in cases following the arrival of the highly transmissible Omicron strain.

The restrictions, which were expected to have been lifted on January 27, included a ban on singing and dancing in hospitality venues, entertainment facilities and major recreation facilities, and no more than one person per two square metres in businesses.

Elective surgeries were also paused, while indoor mask wearing was required.

It is understood the Premier will seek to “roll over” the ­restrictions as the government concentrates on getting the state’s children back to school for face-to-face learning.

While the Premier labelled the changes at the time as “minor” and “proportionate” measures that would “alleviate pressure on the hospital system and staff”, the entertainment and hospitality sector have argued otherwise.

Hotels boss Craig Laundy is among those lobbying the ­government to do more to help revitalise the entertainment and hospitality sector.

Sophie, Analise and Charlie Laundy, whose family has felt the impact of the Covid restrictions at their pubs. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

While the Laundy Hotels publican had been hoping for restrictions to ease, he conceded scrapping the bans would make “little difference” in bringing Sydney, especially the CBD, “back from the dead”.

Mr Laundy said the government needed to change its narrative on Covid with less of a focus on cases “to reduce the fear factor” while also introducing measures such as an ­extension of the Dine And ­Discover vouchers.

“We’ve just got to live with this thing,” he said.

“Everywhere is so quiet, ­especially in the CBD. People are just not going out. Lifting restrictions isn’t ­really going to make much of an impact.

“There needs to be a campaign to get people to start going out again, and the government needs to take the fear factor away by changing its narrative and not focusing so much on case numbers.”


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