Masks will be mandatory in a number of indoor settings across Sydney from midnight tonight, with $200 fines applying from Monday, as more local cases of COVID-19 emerge.
Gladys Berejiklian announced today that masks will be compulsory across Greater Sydney (including Wollongong, the Central Coast and the Blue Mountains) in the following settings:
- Shopping settings including retail, supermarkets and shopping centres;
- Public and shared transport;
- During indoor entertainment including cinemas and theatres;
- Places of worship;
- Hair and beauty premises.
Face masks will also be required for staff of casinos and hospitality venues in Sydney. $200 on-the-spot fines for non-compliance will be handed out from Monday.
Berejiklian told reporters today:
“If you go to shopping centres, are catching public transport, attending an entertainment venue like the cinema, you have to wear a mask. We want people in NSW to be able to go about their business as much as possible but we need to reduce the risks in certain settings where we know there are challenges.”
Amongst other rules announced for the greater Sydney area:
- Gym classes will be reduced to 30 people;
- Places of worship and religious services will be limited to 1 person per 4sqm, up to a maximum of 100 people per separate area;
- Weddings and funerals will be limited to 1 person per 4sqm, up to a maximum of 100 people;
- Outdoor performances and protests will be limited to 500 people;
- Controlled, outdoor gatherings (seated, ticketed, enclosed) will be limited to to 2,000 people;
- Night clubs will not be permitted.
NSW recorded seven locally acquired cases of COVID in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
NSW recorded seven locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, with an additional 12 cases in returned travellers in hotel quarantine. This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW to 4,758 since the beginning of the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/K2m38p6uwx
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 2, 2021
