Madeleine Taplin

The entire state of NSW is in a state of emergency. With COVID-19 case numbers skyrocketing over the past four days, the NSW Government has introduced the “harshest restrictions Australia has ever seen” according to Premier Gladys Berejiklian, with more than eight million people subjected to stay-at-home orders. So, what are the new restrictions, and what do they mean for Upper and Lower North Shore citizens?

Stay-at-home orders:

Citizens must stay at home and are only permitted to leave for four specific essential reasons. These are shopping for food or other essential goods and services, medical care or compassionate needs, exercise limited to two people, and essential work or education which cannot be undertaken from the home. For food shopping and medical services, these outings are limited to one individual. For North Shore residents, this rule is fairly self-explanatory, and remains the same as prior rules. Additionally, the current stay-at-home orders have been extended until the end of September.

Visiting Residences:

You must not allow people to visit your home. However, special exemptions apply which allow a singular visitor for the following reasons:

  • Permitted work (e.g., gardening, pool servicing etc).
  • Childcare
  • To give effect to arrangements between parents and children under 18 or their siblings
  • To assist a person to more places of residence
  • To avoid an injury of serious risk of harm
  • Because of an emergency
  • To view or inspect property to lease or purchase.

Outdoors and Mask Wearing:

You can leave your home to exercise or supervise a child aged 12 years or under who is exercising or playing. However, you must remain within the 5km radius from your house and cannot be partaking in outdoor recreation events, such as picnicking, sunbathing or lounging. In simpler terms, this means North Shore residents have not had significant changes to their outdoor restrictions. Additionally, masks must be worn when venturing outside except for when you are exercising. This means if you are walking down the road to grab a coffee, you must be wearing a mask, and you cannot remove this mask until you reach your home, or have reached a low-pedestrian area, in which case, masks may be removed to consume food and drink but must be replaced once the action is completed.

Importance of restrictions:

Whilst the Lower and Upper North Shore areas are currently not considered areas of concern, it is important that all residents of NSW abide by these new restrictions. In order to reduce restrictions, the state needs to see a significant decrease in case numbers, and this can only be achieved by the population working together and actively following all rules and regulations. Maintaining high levels of corporation with the restrictions will ensure our local areas do not contract the virus, and thus allow for more freedom in everyday life. To see cases and vaccination locations in your local area, visit: https://covid19nearme.com.au/state/nsw