UPDATE 27/12/21: NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced a number of new restrictions last week in response to cases surging, including a mask mandate.
Masks were mandated in all indoor setting from midnight on Christmas Eve.
QR-code check-ins also returned just one week after he scrapped them.
Density limits will also return to hospitality venues. From December 27 (today) to January 27, venues will have a limit of one person per two square metres.
Cases hit over 6,000 today for the third day running, with 6,324 cases reported in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
NSW COVID-19 update – Monday 27 December 2021
In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:
– 95% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
– 93.5% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/1WB6TXOVuz— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 26, 2021
Perrottet is also telling people to somehow not “mingle” when they’re out.
“We’re encouraging people not to mingle and when you’re out and about at a restaurant or cafe and a pub or a club, please, where possible don’t mingle.
“We know that from a case we’ve seen in Newcastle that singing and dancing and the like has been part of that increase in spread.”
Free rapid antigen test kits will also be available to all residents in the coming weeks to ease the pressure on PCR testing sites, which have been overwhelmed this week.
He’s asked people who are not unwell to please stop lining up for tests, which is the opposite to what we’ve been used to hearing for the past 20 months.
“At the moment what we’re seeing is that many people across the state who are asymptomatic and do not feel unwell are lining up for a PCR test,” he said.
“This is putting enormous pressure on the system and I thank everybody for their patience as we go through this period of time. But we need to make sure those people who need to get tested get tested in a timely way.
“We’re doing everything we can to alleviate that pressure. In addition to the PCR testing, if you’re unwell and those people from New South Wales if you aren’t feeling unwell, if you aren’t feeling unwell, please do not get a PCR test.”
The announcements come after yesterday’s emergency national cabinet meeting when Scott Morrison announced practically nothing happened; no decisions were made after a day of discussions and nothing has changed *yet* but ooooo it might. Siri, play ‘Scotty Doesn’t Know‘.
Perrottet had previously resisted a mask mandate, even though experts have been screaming for a mandate since cases started to rise steeply last week, including our own federal chief medical officer. We know how much Dom hates masks.
Perrottet also used that phrase “personal responsibility” a lot today. It’s the same bullshit non-logic Morrison has been spraying this week.
Yesterday, after national cabinet, Morrison said it’s up to us to all take personal responsibility for our own health, kinda like wearing sunscreen to protect yourself from skin cancer, except wow I can’t give other people cancer!
QLD, Tasmania and the ACT have, however, reintroduced masks indoors this week.
NSW #COVID19 update – Thursday 23 December 2021
In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:
– 94.9% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
– 93.5% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/iy3iv4yVa6— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 22, 2021
COVID test lines are also out of control at the moment, with people waiting up to eight hours for a swab and five days for results.
As we head into Christmas, a shitload of test sites are about to close. 77 per cent of all testing facilities in NSW with either close or reduce their hours between Christmas and New Years. Doesn’t seem like a great idea, but with so many healthcare workers isolating due to COVID exposure, everyone is stretched pretty thin.
In response to this unmatched demand, Perrottet is expected to look into providing all residents with free rapid antigen test kits.
PCR tests are still the most accurate and are required if you have been in contact with a positive case or are experiencing symptoms, but RATs can be used as a screening tool.
Perrottet said they would help people monitor their own symptoms.
“As we continue to reopen in a safe and measured way, this is all about expanding our arsenal as we learn to live with the virus,” Perrottet said, as reported by the ABC.
“People have come forward to get tested in record numbers, which is important to help keep people and the community safe, but we need to make sure our testing clinics are there for people who really need it.”
NSW broke its test record yesterday with 160,471 in 24 hours.
Victoria also recorded 2,005 new cases today, up from 1,503 yesterday. Tasmania, SA, and ACT have also broken their own case records.
