On Saturday 19 December, new restrictions came into force in New South Wales' Northern Beaches Local Government Area due to a new cluster of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases. As of 21 December, there are 83 cases of COVID-19 linked to this cluster. The source of the outbreak is still unknown. Many states have also closed their borders to NSW.
Restrictions also came into place on Sunday 20 December 2020 for Greater Sydney, Central Coast and Wollongong areas.
Northern Beaches restrictions
Northern Beaches residents are in lockdown and being told to stay at home. You can only leave your home if you have a 'reasonable excuse'. This includes:
- shopping for food or other goods and services
- medical care or compassionate needs
- exercise
- work or education, where you cannot work or learn from home.
If you visited the Northern Beaches between Thursday 10 December 2020 at 12.01am and Saturday 19 December 2020 at 5.02pm, you must also follow the new restrictions.
All residents and visitors are being urged to get tested.
You also can't enter the Northern Beaches unless you have a 'reasonable excuse'. For example:
- going to your home
- going to a wedding or funeral that follows the latest restrictions.
If you are not a resident, you can't enter the Northern Beaches for a holiday, exercise or to donate blood.
For public gatherings, this is limited to two people unless you are:
- at work
- with people from your household
- at a wedding that follows the latest restrictions, such as:
- dancing only allowed for 20 members of the wedding party
- face masks worn at all times except when eating or drinking, in an emergency, and for the bride and groom to kiss
- at a funeral that has no more than 100 people
- moving house
- caring for someone
- helping in an emergency
- fulfilling a legal obligation, such as going to court.
Many places within the Northern Beaches are also now closed, including:
- pubs and registered clubs, unless they sell take-away food and drinks and provide accommodation
- restaurants and cafes, unless they sell take-away food and drinks
- entertainment facilities, such as theatres, cinemas
- indoor recreation facilities, such as gyms and indoor swimming pools
- personal care services, such as nail salons and beauty salons
- galleries, museums and libraries.
Greater Sydney, Central Coast and Wollongong restrictions
From Monday 21 December, restrictions will apply to Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong. These restrictions include:
- a limit of 10 visitors to your home – this applies until midnight 23 December
- a limit of 10 people in holiday homes and short-term rentals – this applies until midnight 23 December
- existing capacity requirements of one person per 2 square metres will be tightened to 1 person per 4 square metres in indoor areas
- a limit of 300 people allowed in hospitality venues and places of worship
- at entertainment venues, a limit of five performers indoors, provided they are 1.5 metres from one another. Performers must also be 5 metres from the audience. The audience is not allowed to sing along.
You can find out more about the latest restrictions on the NSW Government website.