Thousands of healthcare workers have booked in for a COVID-19 jab at NSW’s mass vaccination hub as social restrictions across Sydney are extended, including mandatory masks on public transport.
As the government ramps up its vaccine rollout with the opening of its hub on Monday, restrictions will continue across the city for another week despite no new cases of community transmission.
Health workers will be the first to be vaccinated at NSW’s new vaccine hub.
The restrictions were due to end at 12.01am on Monday but NSW Health confirmed on Sunday that the initial three-day period would be extended by a week.
Those restrictions were sparked after two cases, a man in his 50s from Sydney’s east and his wife, became the first known locally acquired cases of the Indian B.1.617 variant of the virus in NSW.
Genomic sequencing revealed the man’s infection was linked to a returned overseas traveller from the US, who was quarantined at the Parkroyal hotel at Darling Harbour last month.
However, it is not known how the man, who has no known links to the hotel quarantine or hospital systems, caught the virus, leading health authorities to believe there is at least one person in the community who does not know they have been infected.
NSW Health said a range of restrictions that took effect last Thursday at 5pm will remain in place, apart from a requirement for customers to wear masks in shops.
Household visitors will remain limited to 20 guests, including children. Masks will still be compulsory on public transport and in all public indoor venues.
Visitors to aged care facilities are still limited to two people per day and patrons at pubs and clubs are not allowed to stand up to drink. Dancing will continue to be banned, except for at weddings.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked everyone for their patience during the last three days.
“As the missing link case hasn’t been identified we are keen to prevent a super-spreading event,” Ms Berejiklian said in a statement. “NSW Health has recommended the current safeguard of restrictions be in place for an extra week until 12.01am Monday, 17 May.”
Late last week, Ms Berejiklian warned the missing link between the couple’s infection and the traveller in quarantine may never be found.
Meanwhile, the government will open its new mass vaccination hub at 8am on Monday. It will operate six days a week with the capacity to administer up to 30,000 vaccines a week.
NSW Health could not detail how many bookings have been made for the Sydney Olympic Park hub but said it was “thousands” throughout the first week of operation for the purpose-built centre.
Healthcare staff – including clinical and non-clinical, in public and private health settings as well as community health settings – are part of phase 1b of the vaccine rollout at the hub.
Household contacts of quarantine and border workers and emergency services workers are also included in phase 1b. In the general population, people over 50 will be eligible to get the jab at the hub from May 24.
However, anyone who managed to book a jab at the vaccination hub but is ineligible in this phase of the rollout will be turned away, after a link allowing anyone to register was published online.
Alexandra Smith is the State Political Editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Michaela Whitbourn is a legal affairs reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2021-05-09 09:30:00Z
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