Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced that the suite of health restrictions reinstated on December 24 will remain in place until at least February 27. This includes a prohibition on singing and dancing in public venues and at events like music festivals, a density limit cap on hospitality venues as per the two-square-metre rule and mask mandates in all indoor settings including on public transport.
Perrottet said at the press briefing on January 25 – the date marking the second anniversary of the first confirmed Covid-19 case in Australia – that the state’s priority would be getting kids back into classrooms and removing the pause on elective and non-emergency surgeries.
The premier also provided new advice about when people who have previously contracted the virus can get their booster dose. Positive cases must wait a minimum of four weeks after recovering before they can get their third dose of vaccine. Scientific data from around the world has now confirmed that Omicron, the dominant strain of the virus in the world currently, is able to largely evade immunity from two doses of a vaccine, but that a third dose significantly bolsters protection against serious illness, hospitalisation and death.