Date is FINALLY revealed for when the first NSW pubs will open their doors after months in lockdown for a ‘vaccine passport’ trial – and it’s good news for the entire state
Pubs and restaurants are set to throw open their doors on October 4 to trial the NSW government’s vaccine passport app – about two weeks before the entire state is set to celebrate ‘Freedom Day’.
Health authorities and the state’s policymakers are desperate to test the new technology which will enable double-dosed residents to prove their vaccination status when businesses are tipped to reopen statewide in mid-October.
But while the news is sure to be welcomed by long-suffering Sydneysiders now in their 13th week of Covid lockdown, the pilot scheme is ‘almost certainly’ set to go ahead in regional NSW, Nine News reported.
Sydney will have to bide their time until the long-awaited Freedom Day tipped for October 18 when the state hits its vaccination target.
Pubs and restaurants are set to throw open their doors on October 4 to trial the NSW government’s vaccine passport app. Pictured: A restaurant in Sydney’s Newtown
Pictured: NSW MP Victor Dominello shows what the vaccine passport app will look like
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has flagged that NSW will finally emerge from its gruelling lockdown in mid October when vaccination rates hit 70 per cent coverage.
But the long-awaited freedoms will not be made available to anyone who has not received the jab.
Customers and patrons at non-essential venues including pubs, restaurants, cafes, gyms and hair salons, will need show they’ve been double-jabbed via QR code when checking in using the Service NSW app, with anyone who doesn’t get the ‘green light’ refused entry.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro if businesses fail to keep an eye on who is coming in they will cop severe penalties.
‘There will be a poster on the front window to say the business is vaccinated… and we will make sure it is very visible for the public,’ he said.
‘There will be significant fines for breaches.’
Businesses that allow unvaccinated customers through their doors or hire staff who are not fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will face ‘significant fines,’ the NSW government has warned. Pictured: Bar staff at Summer Hill in Sydney
The state is set to emerge from its gruelling lockdown in mid October when vaccination rates hit 70 per cent coverage, but the long-awaited freedoms will not be made available to anyone who has not received the jab. Pictured: Patrons at Sydney’s Opera Bar
Under the reopening plan shops and venues will still to operate with the one person per 4sqm rule enforced indoors and the one person per 2sqm rule adhered to outdoors.
Weddings and funerals will also be allowed go ahead with a 50-person cap on guests, along with religious services.
Up to five guests will be permitted in the home, with gatherings of 20 permitted outdoors.
Sporting events will be given the green light but under the one person per 4sqm rule with a limit of 5000 spectators, while cinemas will be able to operate at 75 per cent capacity.
Those who refuse to get the jab will not be granted access to the same freedoms as those who are fully vaccinated and only allowed to attend essential venues such as supermarkets.