The NSW Government has reintroduced a number of restrictions for Greater Sydney as it looks to manage the latest COVID-19 outbreak, which continues to grow.
The total number of cases linked to the Bondi cluster has grown to 31, but health authorities have not been able to trace the link between four of these cases, which has caused concern about the growing risk to the community.
To combat the outbreak the NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced a range of new restrictions that come into effect from 4pm on Wednesday 23 June and will be in place for one week.
These restrictions will be introduced for Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong, and Shellharbour, and are designed to reduce the risk of further community transmission.
The restrictions that retailers will need to take note of are that face masks are once again mandatory at all indoor non-residential settings, and the one person per four square metres rule has been reintroduced.
If you live or work in the City of Sydney, Waverley, Randwick, Canada Bay, Inner West, Bayside, and Woollahra local government areas, you cannot travel outside metropolitan Sydney for non-essential travel.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she is once again asking the community to do what they do best and follow the health advice to get on top of this outbreak.
“We don’t take these steps lightly and we never want to impose restrictions unless we absolutely have to,” Berejiklian said.
“We know the effect this will have on residents and venues, but we must take this action now to ensure we keep on top of this outbreak.”
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant urged the community to play their part in controlling the COVID spread.
“We need really high testing rates to make sure we’re stopping any chains of transmission and we’re continuing to urge people to come forward for testing, especially if you were in Westfield Bondi Junction (including the car park) at any time between 12 June and 18 June,” Dr Chant said.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard also said that retailers need to be tracking patrons either through QR Codes or even pen and paper.