Well that's it from us! This is our last live coronavirus blog of 2020. It's been a strange old year – we hope we won't be doing this for very long in 2021. If you wish to continue reading, you can follo along on Friday's blog.
Here is a quick recap of the situation as we settle into January 1:
- New Year's Eve has gone off with a bang in Sydney, albeit a little shorter than usual as fireworks lit up the city skyline.
- NSW household gatherings are now limited to five guests in Greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Central Coast and Blue Mountains.
- Victoria has shut its border to NSW. Victorians were told to limit New Year's parties to 15 people, down from 30, while masks will be mandatory indoors again from 5pm on Thursday. Victoria reported eight new COVID-19.
- There is a massive traffic jam on the Victoria-NSW border as thousands of cars wait to cross. Our journalist, Lucy Battersby, reported just after midnight that the A1 was blocked from Boydtown to the border (about 50km). "Everyone will have to stay awake all night in their cars to keep the queue moving because it is a mountain road and you can’t pull over to sleep," she said.
- A fifth checkpoint will be added at the Queensland-NSW border this weekend to reduce the traffic delays heading north.
We hope the news will improve as we head into 2021.
We will be back to keep you company on New year's Day as we continue our live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Best wishes for the new year.