Update: The NSW government has now announced the reinstatement of some restrictions alongside 'recommendations'. Find the full details here.
According to details leaked to the Sydney Morning Herald, the NSW government will be reintroducing a raft of health restrictions to curb the escalating Omicron crisis. Cases have rocketed in recent days, with almost 110,000 new cases recorded between January 5-7. While data collected across the country has so far largely tallied with reports from overseas that the Omicron variant causes less severe illness, the sheer volume of cases caused by the highly transmissible strain has pushed the nation's hospitals to their limits. Significant PCR testing delays and government advice instructing people to rely on untrackable RAT tests unless symptomatic is likely to mean the true number of people infectious in the community is far higher than official figures.
According to the Herald, the reinstated restrictions expected to be formally announced on Friday, January 7, include a return to seated service only in hospitality venues and standing drinking will be banned in all pubs and bars. Nightclubs will be once again closed and the prohibition on singing and dancing in public venues will also be reinstated.
Major events will be risk-assessed by NSW Health and may be ordered to postpone if deemed too dangerous to public health – a move that could have major implications for the many summer culture and food festivals that take place in NSW over the warmer months.
Elective surgeries are also likely to be postponed, to reduce the pressure on the hospital system. Despite assurances by both NSW premier Dominic Perrottet and the prime minister that hospitals were coping well with the surge in cases, anecdotal reports from medical professionals have contradicted this, describing gruelling conditions for medical professionals and mass furloughs of essential staff due to infection or close contact status.
The reintroduction of health measures is a major shift from the NSW and federal governments' previous position on the Omicron surge, which has within a matter of weeks become the dominant strain all over the world. Since retiring almost all safety measures on December 15, QR code check-ins, density limits, mingling bans and mask mandates have been reintroduced in NSW, from late December. More details to follow.