It’s undoubtedly a bleak day in NSW, as the state surpassed previous case number records and confirmed 919 new cases in the last 24 hours. Despite the grim news, Premier Gladys Berejiklian is still determined to announce the “one thing” that fully vaccinated citizens can do now the state has hit six million, and may reveal these changes as early as Thursday – that’s tomorrow, for those of you playing at home.
Gladys said the NSW Government would be making those announcements “tomorrow or the day after” in the state’s daily press conference on Wednesday morning, noting that once the vaccination milestones start to be reached things can look to be eased a bit.
“We have made the point that the most important figure moving forward as the rate of vaccination,” she said.
“As soon as we had all those milestones, we will have those extra freedoms. We’re looking forward as a team to announce tomorrow or the day after what for those who are fully vaccinated.”
She said that although the 919 new cases are alarming, it’s important to recognise that the rate of hospitalisation is relatively low, which is a result of the state’s exponential vaccination levels.
“The measure of how we are doing is keeping people out of hospital, and stopping people dying,” she continued.
“That is the most important measure. But what is also really important is when you have those high rates of vaccination, that adds protection and allows us to live life more freely and gives us confidence to move forward.
“Because every state in the nation is going to have to confront having Delta [be] part of our lives moving forward.”
NSW hit its six-million first-dose vaccinations target on Tuesday, a week ahead of the Premier’s end-of-month forecast, confirming that fully-vaxxed people will be able to live in the yet-to-be-announced eased restrictions come September. It’s likely this won’t apply to LGAs of concern, however.
Gladys has previously hinted that small businesses like hairdressers could be a part of these new changes, and urged that everyone should be getting a jab if they’re able.
We’ll let you know what these changed rules are as soon as we find out, but it’s tentatively looking a little brighter out there, mates.
All adult Aussies (yep, even if those of us under 40) are currently able to get the safe and effective AstraZeneca vaccine through a GP. Click here to see which clinics are offering it, and talk to a doctor to see if it’s right for you.
Alternatively, you can triple-check to see if you’re eligible for the Pfizer vaccine here.
The best vaccine is the first one you can get, and that’ll be our ticket out of this mess.
