Premier
Gladys Berejiklian formed a "war cabinet" to make decisions in relation to the pandemic. Members included herself,
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet,
Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard and
Minister for Police and Emergency Services David Elliott. The daily press conferences ended on 13 September, with the premier stating "to expect the leader of the government indefinitely to do this every day means that I am not doing my job properly".
Restrictions In March 2020, the Secretary of the
New South Wales Department of Education,
Mark Scott ordered that, effective immediately, New South Wales schools introduce social distancing measures to reduce the spread of coronavirus and
New South Wales Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard announced that he was using his powers, under Section 7 of the 'Public Health Act 2010', to immediately and indefinitely cancel all public events with more than 500 attendees. The order is enforceable by
NSW Police and violations of the order can carry a prison term of six months, an $11,000 fine, or both.
Corrective Services New South Wales implemented screening mechanisms, early flu vaccination programs and stricter hygiene requirements for staff, visitors and inmates to slow the spread of the virus.
Border closures The Victoria/New South Wales state border was closed from 8 July 2020 to 23 November, and from 1 January 2021 to 12 February. For much of the time the borders were open during 2021, people returning to NSW from Victoria were required to quarantine. On 12 July 2021, the use of
QR code check-ins in retail stores, hire vehicles and many other settings, became mandatory in the entirety of NSW.
Lockdowns and curfews 2020 On 18 March, The Minister for Health
Brad Hazzard signed an Order under the emergency powers of the Public Health Act 2010 supporting measures announced by Prime Minister
Scott Morrison which included: • a ban on non-essential indoor gatherings of 100 or more people (incl. staff) • a ban on outdoor gatherings of 500 or more people to continue in place • people only consider travel when it is essential • strict visitation rules for aged care facilities including a limit of two visitors a day and preferably no children under 16 years of age • social distancing measures of 1.5 metres • lifting work restrictions on 20,000 student nurses so they can be engaged to help respond to the pandemic. Despite a ban on gatherings of more than 500 people, huge crowds flocked to the popular
Bondi Beach and other beaches across Sydney on Friday 20 March. On 21 March, crowds built up yet again which led
Waverley Council to temporarily close
Bondi, and the other beaches of
Bronte and
Tamarama. From 24 March, parents were encouraged to keep children home from school, although schools remained open. On 30 March, NSW Parliament passed the "COVID-19 Restrictions on Gathering and Movement" law, which limited public gatherings to two people and directed, "that a person must not, without reasonable excuse, leave the person's place of residence." It listed 16 reasonable excuses and took effect from midnight on 31 March. On 8 May the Federal Government released a three-stage plan to re-open Australia in a COVID-safe structure. From 15 May New South Wales allowed five people to visit homes and to travel any distance to do so, outdoor gatherings of up to ten people, and some outdoor facilities to open. From 11 May, students returned to school one day a week with a plan for a phased return over several weeks. From 25 May, the phased return was replaced with full-time schooling. From 1 July 2020, New South Wales eased restrictions further due to the limited
community transmission of COVID-19, at that time. No set upper limit on patron numbers at indoor venues, but only one person per 4 square metres. Outdoor venues, with a maximum capacity of 40,000, were allowed up to 25 per cent of normal capacity. Events had to be ticketed, patrons seated and follow guidelines. Restriction on funerals eased, but the four-square-metre rule applied. Other existing restrictions, no more than 20 guests inside homes, 20 outside, remained in force. Restrictions were tightened again on 17 July.
2021 On 23 June 2021, from 4pm, some partial restrictions were introduced for
Greater Sydney, the
Blue Mountains, the
Central Coast,
Wollongong and
Shellharbour limiting visitor numbers to homes, density in hospitality venues, participant numbers in dance and gym classes, and other activities, and requiring masks in indoor non-residential settings. Residents of the
City of Sydney,
Waverley,
Randwick,
Canada Bay,
Inner West,
Bayside, and
Woollahra local government areas were restricted from travel outside metropolitan Sydney for non-essential reasons. From 25 June at 11:59pm, stay-at-home orders were in force for anyone who lived or worked in the local government areas of Woollahra, Waverley, Randwick and City of Sydney, requiring that those people leave home only for necessary work or education, outdoor exercise, caretaking duties, or buying essential goods. On 26 June stay-at-home orders were expanded to all of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong. On 9 July, from 5pm, an additional set of restrictions was put in place for Greater Sydney: • Outdoor public gatherings limited to two people (excluding members of the same household) • People must stay in their Local Government Area or within 10 km of home for exercise and outdoor recreation, with no carpooling between non-household members • Browsing in shops is prohibited, plus only one person per household, per day may leave the home for shopping • Funerals limited to ten people in total (from Sunday, 11 July) Greater Sydney region schools moved to a learn-from-home model for students from the beginning of Term 3, 12 July, with in-person schooling available for families that needed it. Schools outside Greater Sydney recommended masking, restricted visitors including parents, and additional restrictions on activities such as choirs. On 13 August, restrictions on leaving Greater Sydney were tightened. Residents were required to obtain a permit to leave the region. Visiting holidays homes was only permitted under "special circumstances", and limited to one person. On 14 August at 5pm, stay-at-home orders were issued throughout New South Wales, retail premises were closed unless in specific categories including supermarkets, pharmacies, and building supplies, and employers were required to allow work-from-home where "reasonably practicable", initially to extend to 22 August. The statewide stay-at-home orders were extended several times. From 16 August people who had to isolate when awaiting COVID-19 test results could be paid $320 to compensate for lost wages. On 27 August, a phased return-to-school plan was announced for later in the year, with school scheduled to begin 25 October for kindergarten and year 1, 1 November for years 2, 6, and 11, and 8 November for years 3–5 and 7–10. On 9 September, the NSW state government announced that when full vaccination levels reached 70%, those who are fully vaccinated would have greater freedoms than others. This 70% level was predicted to happen in mid-October. On 11 September at 12:01am, many areas of regional NSW came out of lockdown (
stay-at-home orders lifted) as planned, after the last extension. Those areas were ones which had no cases of COVID for 14 days, and were also deemed low-risk. Even 'out' of lockdown many restrictions will remain in effect. Within a week Yass, Albury, Lismore, Hilltops and Glen Innes LGAs all had stay-at-home orders re-introduced, and by 21 September the Cowra, Kempsey, Byron and Tweed Shires' LGAs were also again under stay-at-home orders. On 28 September the Port Macquarie and Muswellbrook Shire LGAs were both placed back into lockdown. From 13 September, outdoor gatherings of up to five people including children, across multiple households, were allowed in most of Greater Sydney as long as all adults were vaccinated. Within the designated local government areas of concern, members of a single household were allowed to gather outdoors for one hour of recreation a day, in addition to one hour of exercise. 13 September was referred to as "picnic day". From 21 September, those aged 18 and less living in areas of concern, and areas under stay-at-home rules, could create a 3-person 'friends bubble' to visit each other for play activities On 11 October, which some news media dubbed "Freedom Day", the 107 day lockdown in NSW was eased, mostly for the fully vaccinated. Stay-at-home orders were removed for them; non-essential retailers, hairdressers, and hospitality venues were among those able to re-open to people who could prove their full-vaccinated status; masks were no longer mandatory in the open, though still required indoors in public places and on public transport. The same day, full COVID-19 vaccination reached 75.2%, and 90.8% had received one dose. On 16 October NSW reached 80% full vaccination. Because of this, for those who were fully vaccinated, from 18 October mask wearing requirements, among others, and restrictions on numbers attending gatherings were eased, allowing more people to visit at home, gather outside, and at "controlled" (seated, fenced or ticketed) outdoor events. Travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW was not yet permitted. On 25 October, schools resumed face-to-face learning for all students, with the initial planned return finishing 8 November having been revised twice to have students return earlier. On 1 November, travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW was permitted. Fully vaccinated Australian citizens, residents, and their families became able to arrive from international destinations into New South Wales without hotel quarantine.
Protests Multiple lockdowns happened in New South Wales in 2021. Significant protests included: • An anti-lockdown protest on 24 July in Sydney where several people were arrested. The Sydney CBD was shut down for hours as several thousand people marched from
Camperdown, through
Broadway to
George Street. A police taskforce, 'Seasoned', was established to identify people at the unauthorised march, which breached public health orders. There were also protests that day in Brisbane and Melbourne. • Anti-lockdown protest in Sydney city on the 21st August. The protest was countered by a pre-planned police response of over 1,500 officers and roadblocks on major roads into the central business district. About 250 protesters got into Sydney and over 45 people were arrested. One of its main organisers, a 29-year-old Victorian man, was arrested before the protest on 19 August in
Hornsby for breaching public health orders by travelling to Sydney from Queensland. Protests were also held that day in Adelaide, Brisbane, Darwin, Melbourne and Perth. • Numerous anti-lockdown protests across the state on 31 August. At least 79 protests occurred, including outside the NSW Parliament building and Byron Shire Council Chambers in Mullumbimby. Protests also took place in Blacktown, Fairfield, Sutherland and Liverpool in Sydney, and Ballina, Cessnock, Dubbo, Grafton, Lake Macquarie, Lismore, Mudgee, Nowra, Orange, Port Macquarie, Shellharbour and Wagga Wagga in regional NSW. 24 of the protests were in the state's north alone. Police arrested over 150 people and issued more than 500 infringement notices in connection with the events. Several police officers were injured. == Vaccination rollout ==