Australia's New South Wales eases curbs for Christmas as COVID-19 cases see a dip

Australia’s New South Wales on Wednesday, December 23, eased restrictions imposed due to the novel coronavirus for christmas. This was done after observing a dip in cases for two days straight. However, Sydney's northern seaside suburbs still remain under lockdown after a recent outbreak was reported. 

Restriction eased for christmas 

People in the region were asked to stay at home for five days, beginning from December 19. As per reports, the city has recorded at least 97 cases till now in the outbreak and all are linked to Sydney’s Northern Beaches region. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian while announcing 'modest changes' to coronavirus restrictions said, "In relation to Greater Sydney, there will be no changes but for one tweak and that is on the 24th, the 25th and the 26th you can have of course 10 people into your home, but you'll be able to have in addition to that children under 12". 

Now, the residents in Greater Sydney will be allowed to host unlimited numbers of children aged under 12 in their homes. Apart from this, they can also allow maximum10 visitors per household for the coming three days. According to the reports by AP, about 250,000 northern beaches residents have been confined to their homes. The people were allowed to leave only for reasons such as shopping, exercise and medical care. 

Read: Australian Officials Name More Than 100 Venues As COVID-19 Hotspots In Sydney

However, the full lockdown will resume from December 27. The NSW authorities recently added  more than 100 venues across Sydney as potential COVID-19 hotspots. With this, they also instructed people who attended these gatherings to self isolate themselves in order to stop the virus from spreading.  

Read: Warner, Abbott Won't Play For Australia In 2nd Test Vs India

In the wake of the situation, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on December 21 that “2020 is not done with us yet”. Speaking from Canberra, Morrison called the recent events in the country “incredibly frustrating and disappointing” for people across the nation who were looking forward to get-togethers and inter-state travel. According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, Australia has a total of 28,237 cases with 908 fatalities.

Read: NSW Premier On Sydney Cases, Restriction Changes

Also Read: Rajeev Shukla Clarifies Rahul Dravid Won't Be Sent To Australia Post India's Adelaide Loss

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