As NSW continues to flatten the COVID-19 curve, social restrictions are beginning to slightly relax.
This morning, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced that from Friday, May the 1st, two adults will be able to visit another household.
“We know how many people have been cooped up for a number of weeks,” Berejiklian said during a press conference. “We know it’s been difficult.”
This morning, Sydney beaches including Bondi, Bronte and Tamarama also reopened but for local swimmers and surfers only.
According to Sydney Morning Herald, Waverly mayor Paula Masselos said “residents will be able to swim or surf at the beaches in Sydney’s eastern suburbs between 7am and 5pm on weekdays.”
“Our beaches remain closed to all land-based activities including social gatherings, sunbaking, walking and jogging,” Masselos said on Monday.
These new relaxed social restrictions come after NSW recorded just two new cases of coronavirus after over 4,000 tests were conducted on Sunday.
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The rest of Australia has also been easing up on certain coronavirus restrictions. In Queensland, shopping for non-essential items, picnics and weekend drives will be allowed from this weekend. In Western Australia, gathering limits have increased from two people to 10 (including weddings) and residents are allowed to leave home for recreational activities like picnics, fishing, boating and camping. In the Northern Territory, national parks will be opened this weekend but a 10-person gathering limit has been maintained.
NSW residents might be breathing a sigh of relief over the new rules, however, the Premier has reiterated the importance of maintaining safe social distancing – particularly when it comes to the elderly.
During an interview on Monday Berejiklian also warned that “once people ease back into normal life…the number of cases will go up.
She said the easing of restrictions without a current vaccine or cure “comes with an obvious consequence, and that obvious consequence is more cases and more people getting sick.”
As of the 28th of April, there are 6,720 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia. With millions of people downloading the government’s new COVIDSafe tracing app and social restrictions being eased in stages across the country – there is a clear light at the end of the tunnel.
However, as Berejiklian and others have warned, we still need to maintain safe social distances and follow the rules to well and truly flatten that curve and make a complete return to normal life.
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