Put the date in your diary: October 11 is officially the day that NSW’s lockdown can begin ending. The premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the long-awaited date as part of a press briefing unveiling the state’s three-phase plan for exiting the pandemic between now and December 1.
From October 11, the first phase of the ‘roadmap to freedom’ returns a significant level of access to businesses, gyms, entertainment venues and hospitality venues. Mask use will still be mandatory and social distancing and capacity limits will be in effect. However, the freedoms will not be available for people who are unvaccinated.
Once 80 per cent of the population is jabbed, statewide travel will be allowed for fully vaccinated people. Standing service in hospo venues like pubs will be also allowed and community sport can resume.
From December 1, the two square meter rule will kick in and mask rules will be relaxed. At this point, unvaccinated people will be allowed to exit lockdown rules. The premier said at this point, more than 90 per cent of the population will have been vaccinated. The premier said that those choosing not to be vaccinated for non-medical reasons were welcome to make that choice, but that they will not be able to access the freedoms of fully vaccinated people for several months.
“People are free to exercise their choice in a democracy. But there are laws in the system to allow governments to make these decisions in exceptional circumstances. I think everyone would agree that a pandemic is an exceptional circumstance.”
Deputy premier John Barilaro hailed the plans to reopen as a "blueprint for freedom", but said that people currently out of lockdown in regional NSW would lose their current freedoms on October 11 if they were unvaccinated. Lockdown rules will be reimplemented across the state for anyone who is deliberately avoiding vaccination.