It is finally warming up in Sydney which means there’s one thing on everyone’s minds: the beach.
But thanks to convoluted and ever-changing lockdown restrictions, it’s not immediately clear for many of us as to who is allowed to go for a dip on a hot summer’s spring’s day.
As it stands, people in Sydney (outside of the 12 LGAs of concern) are allowed to go to the beach for exercise or recreation – as long as you live less than 5km away from said beach.
Going for a swim or a surf counts as exercise, while chilling on the sand sure does sound like recreation to us (and, luckily, NSW also defines it as recreation).
However, you can only do these things with one other person, or with members of your own household.
So, the short answer for most Sydneysiders is that you can only go to the beach if you live nearby.
And, even if you do live near the beach, it’s not as if you can just wander down and build a sandcastle with a few mates from around the neighbourhood.
The real tragedy, though, is that people in NSW will finally be allowed to have picnics just as the weather turns to shit
A benevolent act for a weary citizenry would be to start the picnics this weekend instead of Monday pic.twitter.com/URL95lQbmt
— Michael Koziol (@michaelkoziol) September 9, 2021
Back in August – as a little treatie for hitting the 6 million jabs milestone – it was announced that fully-vaccinated people in NSW (but outside the 12 LGAs of concern) would be able to have picnics of up to five people from September 13.
However by the time it comes into play on Monday, all this warm weather will be gone and it’s instead forecasted to be pouring down in Sydney all bloody week.
That means most of us in Sydney will have to wait a week or so until we can take advantage our newfound right to have picnics on the beach.
Just our luck, hey.
All adult Aussies (yep, even those of us under 40) are currently able to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Click here to see which clinics are offering it, and talk to a doctor for more info.
The best vaccine is the first one you can get, and that’ll be our ticket out of this mess.
