From tomorrow masks will be mandatory for Sydneysiders inside apartment building common areas, which includes foyers, lifts and shared laundry facilities.
The announcement was made at Sunday’s press conference, after NSW Health recorded 77 cases and its first death linked to the Bondi cluster. That number has since climbed to 112 locally-acquired cases today, making it the worst day yet of the Sydney outbreak.
From Tuesday, residents in Greater Sydney must wear a face mask in indoor common areas of a residential buildings. That includes: strata titled, community titled or company titled. However, NSW Health has specified that you do not need to wear a mask inside your own apartment.
Common areas where you must wear a mask include:
- a shared foyer or lobby of an apartment block
- lifts, stairwells and corridors
- shared laundry facilities.
Masks must be worn by anyone entering including:
- residents and visitors
- building managers, concierge staff and cleaners
- people providing goods and services including tradespeople and contractors
- people delivering food, mail and parcels.
Speaking at Monday morning’s press conference NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that of those 112 overnight COVID cases, the majority of those were family members or very close contacts.
NSW recorded 112 new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/dpcXzL8Y80
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 12, 2021
“Family or close friends, unfortunately, bear the brunt of those 112 numbers we have seen overnight,” Berejiklian said.
“I want to stress again, as we did yesterday, if you put yourself at risk, you’re putting your entire family, and that means extended family, as well as your closest friends and associates, at risk and the numbers are telling in that regard.”
Cheif Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant also noted that cases were rising among young people, who are only eligible to received AstraZeneca at this point in the pandemic.
“I want to highlight that we are also seeing cases emerge among young adults in the 18 to 20-year-old age group in the Georges River, Bayside and Sutherland local government areas and they are largely spreading it – again, to echo the Premier’s words – to their closest friends and family,” Dr Chant said.
“It is crucial that young adults limit their social interactions at this time and also come forward for testing.”
