After Australia locked down the island nation and sparked mass protests, New South Wales’ Minister for Health announced Thursday that fully vaccinated residents will soon be allowed “one hour only” of extra recreational time.
Beginning Sept. 13, those who live “areas of concern” such as Sydney, Liverpool, and others will be allowed to “gather outdoors for recreation (including picnics) within the existing rules (for one hour only, outside curfew hours within 5km of home),” new guidance states.
“This is in addition to the one hour allowed for exercise,” the guidance continues. (RELATED: Australian State Bans People From Removing Masks To Drink Alcohol Outside As COVID-19 Cases Surge)
Premier Gladys Berejiklian thanked residents of New South Wales for getting the vaccine so that they can return to normalcy.
“We are so grateful for every person who comes forward to get vaccinated because the more jabs we get into arms, the sooner we can lift restrictions,” Berejiklian said.
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – AUG. 26: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks to the media during a press conference to provide a COVID-19 update on August 26, 2021 in Sydney, Australia. (Bianca De Marchi – Pool/Getty Images)
The state imposed strict lockdown measures recently in response to a rise in cases of the Delta variant. The stay-at-home orders permit people to only leave their houses for essential shopping, medical care and work. Law enforcement is allowed to ticket any citizen who is more than 5 kilometers from their homes and random checkpoints have been set up to ensure compliance.
A rural council in New South Wales shot and killed several shelter dogs because they wanted to slow the potential spread of COVID-19, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. The dogs were killed so that volunteers wouldn’t have to travel to pick them up.
