Yesterday the under-pressure NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed that she was set to announce more easing of venue restrictions. However, the uptick in locally acquired COVID cases in the state has seen her government slam the brakes.
With 11 community cases reported yesterday, Berejiklian told a press conference, "Without getting into too many of the specifics, we were going to further ease restrictions in relation to hospitality venues."
The new easing of restrictions were to follow up those already announced on Tuesday which related to outdoor events.
Berejiklian revealed that she was due to ease restrictions relating to a variety of issues such as "how many you can have in a group booking, those type of matters and how we address smaller venues."
The Premier added, "At the moment... you are still limited to only ten for a group booking so we were looking at those numbers. We were looking at what we do with smaller venues, because some smaller venues are saying ‘the four square metre [rule] is killing us so can you have a minimum number before you start counting the four square metre rules’. So they were things that we were going to be able to announce."
The government is now waiting on advice from the state's Chief Health Officer, Kerry Chant, as to when the easing can now be implemented.
Berejiklian stated they still want the restrictions lifted: "We’d like to still be able to do that. But as soon as Dr Chant gives us the greenlight.”
It was confirmed on Thursday morning that New South Wales has recorded six locally acquired coronavirus infections since 8pm last night.
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