NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has introduced a raft of new restrictions as 14 new local cases were recorded between 8pm on June 21 and 8pm on June 22. From 4pm on June 23, the following restrictions will be in effect.
- No more than five people are allowed to visit a private residence, including children;
- Hospitality venues will be allowed to operate seated table service only, with no vertical consumption of alcohol or mingling permitted;
- No singing or dancing to be allowed in public venues, including karaoke venues and dancefloors in nightclubs;
- Dancing at wedding receptions will be limited to 20 people at a time;
- Venues will have capacities capped according to the four-square-metre rule;
- Outdoor events will be capped to 50 per cent capacity;
- Masks will be required in all indoor settings, including in workplaces such as offices;
- Gym classes will be limited to a maximum of 20 people, and all attendees will be required to wear a mask; and
- On public transport, you must only sit on the green dots to ensure better social distancing.
Despite the surge in cases, the state will remain out of a full lockdown. However, people living and working in seven hotspot LGAs – Randwick, Bayside, Botany Bay, Inner West, City of Sydney, Waverley and Woollahra – must not leave Greater Sydney.
Health minister Brad Hazzard cast a particularly grave tone on the situation, saying that Sydneysiders faced “very real and present danger”, adding that he was “as worried now as I have been at any time since January last year,” because of the high transmissibility of the delta variant currently spreading in Sydney.