NSW has reported one new COVID-19 case in the community as the state government gives the go-ahead for dancing at weddings, school choirs, excursions and end-of-term celebrations.
The locally-acquired case was detected after 8pm on Wednesday night and will not be included in Thursday's official tally, meaning NSW has officially recorded three consecutive days with no community transmissions.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new local case is under investigation. Another case was detected in a traveller in hotel quarantine.
Passengers check-in for their flight to Adelaide on Thursday. Credit:Brook Mitchell
From Thursday, people in NSW can travel to South Australia without needing to quarantine.
Ms Berejiklian said restrictions on weddings will be eased, with bridal parties of up to 20 allowed on the dance floor. She did not outline when this would take effect.
“But I stress it is the same 20 [people]. You cannot have a roster of different guests of 20,” she said.
“This is really important because weddings and unfortunately funerals and other gatherings [are] where the virus is most contagious and spreads most readily because people know each other.”
Several restrictions on schools will be relaxed in term four, and parents will also have more freedom to watch their children play sport, NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said.
Choirs will be back for up to five students in a group at any time. Music ensembles will also be back with unlimited numbers of students as long as social distancing is maintained.
Parents will be able to return to volunteering for educational activities in schools, including reading groups and garden programs.
Year 6 formals and celebrations, school assemblies and presentation days are expected to go ahead at the end of term four.
School camps and excursions will be allowed as long as the venues have COVID-safe plans.
Orientation and transition programs will also go ahead for kindergarten and year 7 students starting in 2021.
The government will open inter-school and zone sports competitions, with parents allowed to attend community sports venues as long as they can maintain social distancing.
“The only restriction that will remain is that we will not be able to have parents at school sites for school sport when a school day is on,” Ms Mitchell said.
Acting Minister for Sport Geoff Lee said it was great news that more than one parent can watch their children play weekend sport.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said there's a “spring in our step” as several days of no local transmission was tempered by the knowledge that the virus was still very dangerous and still spreading.
“We are living with the virus. We haven’t beat the virus,” he said.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the new locally-acquired case was a man in his 50s who has underlying health conditions and is being treated in Campbelltown Hospital’s ICU.
The man lived in a “supported accommodation” household for people disabilities in west Sydney. Two other people living in the home have been tested, Dr Chant said. Staff working with these individuals are being alerted and will be isolated as close contacts and get tested, she said. The source of the infection is under investigation.
South Australia's Premier Steven Marshall announced the border reopening on Tuesday if NSW did not record any community transmission between then and today.
Ms Berejiklian said she plans for Sydney's New Year's Eve fireworks to go ahead but it will be a "very toned-down affair" with most people watching broadcasts from their homes.
The state government was in talks with local councils about plans for fireworks on December 31 with social distancing restrictions.
“We don’t want to see what usually happens at New Year's Eve. None of us want to see large crowds. None of us want to see breaches of health orders," Ms Berejiklian said.
Sydney's iconic New Year's Eve fireworks.Credit:Wolter Peeters
“I certainly don’t want all of our good work literally go down the gurgler because of one event where people haven’t done the right thing."
The fireworks will be a very short display at midnight, with no family fireworks earlier in the evening.
“But I do feel its important for the state and the nation because it’s really a national symbol that’s beamed around the world ... it’s a thank you to all our frontline workers,” Ms Berejiklian said.
In Thredbo, The Rivers Restaurant has been forced to close for a week for serial safety breaches after repeated visits from police and the liquor regulator.
The venue exceeded the maximum capacity of patrons, had no spacing between seating, allowed people to mingle between tables, queues to grow to 30 people standing shoulder-to-shoulder, and drink shots at the bar.
Liquor & Gaming director of compliance Dimitri Argeres said the message wasn’t getting through.
It's the second NSW venue to be closed for a week. In August, Unity Hall Hotel in Rozelle was ordered to shut for a series of similar breaches.
On Thursday, Victoria recorded 12 new COVID-19 cases and two deaths.
Kate Aubusson is Health Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-09-24 01:21:00Z
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