[ad_1]
SYDNEY (Reuters) – Two Australian states will ease restrictions on indoor dancing and ease other brakes from Friday after several weeks without COVID-19 cases.
In New South Wales (NSW), 30 people will be allowed to dance at weddings and up to 30 people will be able to sing together indoors, compared to five currently. Households will also be able to accommodate 50 people, instead of 30.
The move comes after the state, which represents one-third of Australia’s population of 25 million, recorded no locally acquired infections for a 38th consecutive day on Wednesday and as the country entered its third day of a national immunization program.
“With the vaccine rollout underway and no new locally acquired cases in NSW, we are in a position to make further changes to a new COVID standard,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.
Restrictions are also eased in South Australia from Friday. Dancing will now be allowed in smaller venues with a capacity of less than 200 people, while in larger venues 50 people will be able to dance at a time in a designated area. The state will also remove testing requirements for visitors to Melbourne, which was previously a COVID-19 hotspot.
Although there have been cases among citizens returning from overseas, Australia has largely contained community transmission of the virus with rapid contact tracing, mandatory mask wear on public transport and instant locks.
It has recorded just under 29,000 cases of COVID-19 and 909 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The nationwide vaccination campaign found incorrect dosages after two elderly people inadvertently received four times the recommended dose of Pfizer Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine.
“Both patients are being monitored and both show no signs of an adverse reaction, but it’s a reminder of the importance of safeguards,” Health Minister Greg Hunt told reporters in Canberra.
Reporting by Renju Jose; Edited by Edwina Gibbs
Source link
