From midnight on December 24, everyone in NSW will be required to wear a mask in all indoor public settings, state premier Dominic Perrottet has announced. Additionally, QR code check-in requirements have been reinstated, and from December 27 until January 27, all hospitality venues will have their capacities capped as per the 2-square-meter rule. Where possible, working from home orders are also back in effect until further notice.
Perrottet also announced changes to testing advice to address the huge backlog of tests that has threatened to derail Christmas travel plans for thousands of people across the state. If NSW residents get a 'ping' via the Service NSW app notifying them that they attended an exposure site, they should take a rapid antigen test rather than a PCR test. “If you are not feeling unwell, do not get a PCR test”, Perrottet said. The premier also announced that rapid antigen tests will be made free across NSW “as we move into 2022”, although an exact date on when these free tests would become available was not disclosed.
Perrottet’s dramatic about-face is in stark contrast to the highly criticised ‘personal responsibility' strategy, which put the onus on the public to choose when and where they wore a mask. Both the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of Physicians have been urging a change to this strategy for days, as well as calling on ATAGI to reduce the interval between second and booster doses of a vaccine from the current five-month wait, although this is yet to be changed.
On December 23, NSW recorded 5,715 new cases – a new national record high. Omicron is now the dominant strain in the state, with 80 per cent of new cases being caused by the variant. However, Dr Kerry Chant, the state’s chief health officer, said that Delta infections were also on the rise, due to festive gatherings. While Omicron is far more transmissible than any previous strains, Chant said that data showed that the variant caused much less severe illness than Delta, with the chance of hospitalisation reduced by 60-80 per cent. However, the sheer number of cases still threatens to overwhelm the hospital system as cases skyrocket, underling the need for health restrictions like masks mandates.