Gladys Berejiklian reveals NSW lockdown reopening details

The Berejiklian government’s crisis cabinet has signed off on a plan agreeing on a timeframe to ease restrictions as soon as next month.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has revealed the state’s lockdown will end the Monday after NSW reaches a 70 per cent double vaccination rate.

The vaccination milestone is expected to be reached around mid-October.

“I cannot stress enough how important it is for people to get vaccinated – if you have not had both doses of the vaccine by the time we hit the 70 per cent milestone, you will not be able to take advantage of these freedoms,” Ms Berejiklian said.

The Opera Bar in Circular Quay. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jenny Evans

Earlier, October 18 had been flagged as a possible date for when restrictions would ease.

The usually innocuous ­October Monday this year was set to be etched in the diary as “freedom day”, when NSW hits 70 per cent double-dose vaccination rates and restrictions begin to ease.

Under a plan signed off by crisis cabinet on Wednesday, hitting that threshold will allow strict lockdown measures to end, allowing ­Sydney­siders to gather ­together again, eat out, and go back to the shops.

Senior ministers last night approved the plan which will see freedoms begin to return as soon as NSW reaches the 70 per cent double-dose threshold in as little as six weeks.

Near-deserted Sydney streets have a target to reopen on October 18. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip

Shops will start to welcome customers and patrons are set to be allowed back into hospitality venues.

Travel outside of Sydney will also be on the cards.

Regional areas with no cases are expected to get relief as early as Saturday.

One source said the freedoms experienced by regional areas set to come out of lockdown in coming days are similar to those Sydney could experience when vaccination targets are met.

Regions set for relief include the Riverina, Mid-North Coast, Far North Coast, and the majority of New England-Northern Tablelands.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro has been working on the long-awaited road map for reopening for months. It’s understood that proposals to ease restrictions in certain settings will be considered by Mr Barilaro’s Department of Industry, but will be subjected to a NSW Health sign-off.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro has been pushing hard to ease restrictions. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

The road map will be unveiled today by Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Mr Barilaro.

It comes after Ms Berejik­lian came under increasing internal pressure to ensure that freedoms are applied equally across Sydney when vaccination thresholds are met.

Treasurer Dominic Perrottet on Wednesday said that hot spot LGAs should get the same freedoms as areas with low case numbers to avoid a “tale of two cities”.

Ms Berejiklian would not be drawn on whether freedoms will be reinstated equally.

“Everybody who is vaccinated at 70 per cent double-dose vaccination will enjoy much more freedom than we experience today,” she said yesterday. “What is still concerning us is that 80 per cent of cases are still in those areas of concern and we’d like to … see that decrease.”

Any freedoms reinstated when NSW hits the 70 per cent vaccination threshold will only be enjoyed by people who have had both vaccine doses.

Ms Berejiklian also suggested that vaccinated returning travellers may be able to quarantine at home before NSW hits the 80 per cent double-dose threshold.

“Certainly between 70 per cent and 80 per cent (vaccination rates), there’s no doubt we’ll be going through a ­transition, and there’s an ­argument for us to consider closely what quarantine for ­returning Australians that are fully vaccinated will look like,” she said.