NSW Government announces reinstatement of Covid-19 restrictions

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced a range of new Covid restrictions as case numbers surge. See the full details here.

The NSW government has reintroduced a number of Covid-19 safety measures as infections surge across the state and hospitals buckle under the pressure.

It comes as NSW recorded 38,625 new Covid infections on Friday and 11 deaths.

There are 1738 people in hospital with the virus, 134 of whom are in intensive care.

The NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced a shift on Covid-19 restrictions after an emergency meeting, which includes bans on singing and dancing in hospitality venues.

He called the restrictions “sensible and proportionate changes” that would “alleviate pressure on the hospital system and staff”.

The move comes after reports 3800 NSW healthcare workers were furloughed after being exposed to Covid, up from 2200 the week before.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced the rules will change. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

On Friday, Mr Perrottet announced non-urgent elective surgeries would continue to be suspended until mid February.

There are also a number of new Covid-19 safety measures, which come into play from tomorrow until January 27:

• No singing and dancing in hospitality venues, which does not include weddings, performances or classes
• Although the majority of major events will “overwhelmingly proceed”, there will be risk assessments carried out by NSW Health for big events
• The NSW government will continue to “encourage” people to minimise mingling where possible. This includes sitting down while drinking, minimising household visitations and holding events outside.

It was also announced that vaccination mandates for employees in certain sectors including healthcare workers and teachers will continue to include booster shots.

When asked if the NSW Government had made the wrong move in ridding of major Covid restrictions just to reinstate them, Mr Perrottet said their approach stayed the same.

“We are seeing case numbers rise right across the country. We have always said we’ll tailor our setting to the circumstances that we face. We’ve always said the focus on ICU capacity and on hospitalisation capacity,” he said.

“We monitor our hospitalisations, we monitor our ICUS and where we need to make some changes we will ... We obviously have made changes today.”

“Certain people would like to go into lockdown but that is not our approach.”

Mr Perrottet also said a new reporting system would allow people to log positive RAT results with Service NSW, which will be available from mid-week next week.

NSW Chief Medical Officer Dr Kerry Chant added that: “In terms of rapid antigen testing, what we're saying is if you’re positive with symptoms, then treat yourself as a case”.

Half the cases over the last seven days were aged between 20 and 39 years-old.

Originally published as NSW Government announces reinstatement of Covid-19 restrictions