Manly Observer has been contacted by scores of residents still confused about the upcoming freedoms for residents as the state reaches 70% vaccination.
Chiefly, many have been unsure whether they are able to leave their LGA from Monday, 11 October – the expected reopening period.
The language has been ambiguous. It has simply not been stated clearly. We sought to fix it: Yes, you can absolutely travel freely throughout all of Greater Sydney from next Monday, 11 October, assuming that 70 per cent vax target is reached and you are fully vaccinated.
Because it’s difficult to find this stated explicitly we have asked for it in writing. The following is a direct quote from a NSW Government spokesperson.
“When we reach 70 per cent, fully vaccinated people will not be subject to distance based movement restrictions (such as the 5km rule or staying in their LGA).”
That’s it – there’s your money shot.
“Freedom of moment is only for the fully vaccinated (two vaccine jabs).”
He continued:
“At 70 per cent, the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Illawarra and [Shell Harbour] will be considered part of the Greater Sydney region.
Fully vaccinated people in the Greater Sydney region can travel to any location within the Greater Sydney region (eg fully vaccinated people can travel from Manly to the Blue Mountains, or from Bondi to Manly.)”
But until we hit 80 per cent we can’t go out of that Greater Sydney area and anyone from the regions can’t come in.
Here are the government materials on this:
Reopening starts at 70% vaccination | NSW Government
Easing restrictions at 80% full vaccination | NSW Government
Opening up NSW in December 2021 | NSW Government
FAQ NSW Road Map
Following on from feedback via this Facebook thread on the topic, we are also working on getting number of specific questions answered which will updated on our page soon.
Active cases of COVID remain fairly stable on the Northern Beaches at 148, ten new cases, seven recoveries and one removal since yesterday. NSW recorded 608 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Meanwhile more than 76% of Northern Beaches residents over 15 are now fully vaccinated and 92.5 % have received their first dose—now we await the rest of the state to catch up to guarantee our 11 October reopening.
