Unvaccinated residents could be banned from pubs while jabs have been made mandatory for frontline workers in Sydney’s hot spots following a record 1,035 new Covid cases in New South Wales announced on Saturday.
Two Sydney residents died from the virus overnight, including one woman in her 70s and another in her 80s, Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirmed.
The younger woman had received both doses of the Covid vaccine and had underlying health conditions while the other was unvaccinated.
The worrying surge in cases came after 156,165 people came forward to get vaccinated on Friday – the highest daily vaccination rate number.
There are now plans reportedly being considered by the NSW government to ban patrons from entering pubs unless they’ve had the jab.
Businesses are expected to reopen once 70 per cent of the population has been jabbed which could be as early as October.
It is an idea set forward as part of a new proposal under consideration by the state government, and talks with leading industry group figures are already under way, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
There is a possibility all hospitality staff and patrons will need proof they have received two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine before entering hospitality establishments.
It was announced all frontline workers in Sydney’s hot spots will need to be vaccinated from next month (pictured in Bankstown)
Industry sources have confirmed the proposal would include merging vaccination certificates and QR code check-ins.
In some positive news for residents confined to their homes, the health minister announced that from midnight on Friday weddings would be allowed with five guests.
‘Couples who wish to marry will be able to marry, but with minimal guests in attendance, so there will be five guests allowed in addition to those who obviously will be necessary for the actual service, so those officiating and perhaps a photographer to record the event,’ he said.
‘We will work through that during the course of the week but I want people to know that if you do wish to get married, you certainly can as of Friday of this week.’
Previously, frontline workers had the option of rapid antigen testing as opposed to getting vaccinated.
‘In line with the amended public health order, if an authorised worker is not vaccinated or does not have a medical contraindication form, they will not be able to work outside their LGA,’ NSW Health said in a statement.
‘Rapid antigen testing will no longer be an alternative to vaccination.’
The deadline to get the jab for frontline workers is now September 6, after unions and peak bodies reached an agreement with the government, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Originally the deadline was Monday August 30.
The worrying surge in cases came after 156,165 people came forward to get vaccinated on Friday – the highest daily vaccination rate number
The eleventh-hour change will now see a number of Sydney hospitals scrambling to book vaccinations for staff living in the 12 identified hotspots.
In further announcements, care workers 16 years and over who live in the hotspot LGAs must have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine before being able to work.
This includes those employed in early education and disability support.
Another change will see authorised workers wanting to leave the area – or workers wanting to enter the area of concern – requiring a formal permit from Service NSW to do so.
The permit then needs to be renewed every two weeks.
Saturday’s case numbers came from a mammoth 129,182 tests carried out within the past 24 hours to 8pm on Friday.
Of the new infections 714 cases are from Sydney’s west and southwest while 78 are from the Nepean and Blue Mountains region.
Western NSW has recorded another 42 infections.
NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty said there are currently 778 Covid patients in hospital with 125 in intensive care.
Of those in intensive care just one is fully vaccinated.
More to come.
Pictured is a queue outside a Covid vaccination clinic in Bankstown in Sydney’s west. Frontline workers must be vaccinated from early September