Home

NSW to ditch hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers from November 1

Erin LyonsNCA NewsWire
Not Supplied
Camera IconNot Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia

Fully vaccinated Australians will be able to return home to NSW without having to quarantine.

The milestone change will come into force on November 1 and will only apply to double-vaccinated Australians who arrive in Sydney.

Passengers will need to be tested before boarding a flight and prove they are fully vaccinated.

“For double-vaccinated people around the world, Sydney and NSW is open for business,” NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

“We want people back. We are leading the nation out of the pandemic. Hotel quarantine and home quarantine is a thing of the past.”

The Premier said he had worked closely with the NSW government to ensure the right protocols were in place to keep people safe.

PACKED BEACHES
Camera IconHotel quarantine to be scrapped in NSW. NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard Credit: News Corp Australia

But the cap for arrivals is just 210 a week.

NSW is on the edge of achieving the magic 80 per cent double-dose target that would mean more freedoms kick in for fully vaccinated residents from Monday.

But a backflip on allowing Sydneysiders to travel to the regions has sparked fury.

The state government’s crisis cabinet met on Thursday and pushed the travel date back to November 1 to allow regions with lagging vaccination uptake to catch up.

Allowing city dwellers to visit the regions was originally promised when the state achieved the 70 per cent milestone, which was then pushed back to 80 per cent.

Mr Perrottet argued that the government did not expect NSW to hit the target so soon.

He was probed about why people in the Hunter region, which has some of the highest case numbers, were still allowed to travel across NSW but Sydneysiders couldn’t.

“It is not a precise science,” Mr Perrottet said.

Sydney Airport
Camera IconThe number of arrivals will be capped at 210. NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw Credit: News Corp Australia

“You could go through every single LGA, and you could go through every single town centre, what we have done is make a decision based on where vaccination rates are. We set out a road map.”

These are the new freedoms under the road map:

GATHERINGS

Groups of 20 people will be allowed to gather in homes, excluding children, and up to 50 people can congregate outdoors.

Ticketed events will be able to hold up to 3000 people in outdoor and controlled settings, kickstarting the state’s arts and music industry.

Up to 5000 people will be able to attend sporting events and community sports are also back on.

MASKS

Masks will remain mandatory indoors except for in offices, a change introduced by Mr Perrottet as an incentive to get people back at work.

HOSPITALITY

Drinking while standing up in a pub will be allowed, but all venues will have density limits.

The 20-person limit on bookings will remain until November 1.

Nightclubs can reopen but dancing is not permitted.

HAIRDRESSERS

Hairdressers are already open but the density limits will no longer apply once the state hits 80 per cent.

SALON OPENINGS
Camera IconDensity limits will be removed at hairdressers. NCA NewsWire / Adam Yip Credit: News Corp Australia

WEDDINGS AND FUNERALS

The cap on the number of people allowed to attend weddings and funerals will be removed but all guests must be fully vaccinated.

SCHOOLS

All students will return to on-site learning by October 25 as long as the school has CovidSafe measures in place.

Kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 students will return to face-to-face learning a week earlier.

TRAVEL

Travel between Sydney and the regions will not be allowed until November 1 after the government backflipped on a promise that it would happen at 80 per cent.

More freedoms will be granted on December 1 and will also apply to unvaccinated residents.

Originally published as NSW to ditch hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated travellers from November 1

Get the latest news from thewest.com.au in your inbox.

Sign up for our emails