Tradies will be able to return to Sydney’s Covid hotspots from TODAY- – but only if they’ve been jabbed

  • Construction workers return to work on Wednesday under a raft of tougher rules 
  • Tradies in Sydney LGA hotspots must be vaccinated or had 1 jab in last 3 weeks
  • Workers must also produce a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hour period
  • Worksites can only operate at 50% capacity with Covid-safety measures in place
  • Sydney Olympic Park vaccination hub opens on Sunday for tradies to get jabbed

By Miriah Davis For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 01:24 BST, 11 August 2021 | Updated: 01:25 BST, 11 August 2021

Construction will resume today as tradesmen from Sydney’s Covid ravaged south-west are allowed to return to work, but only if they have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

From Wednesday eighty-thousand tradies who live across areas considered high-risk in south-west and western Sydney will go back to work with a raft of stringent restrictions in place. 

Under the tougher rules, workers must prove they are fully vaccinated or have received at least one dose within the last three weeks before they can return to worksites. 

Tradesmen from Covid affected Sydney LGAs can return to work on Wednesday if they're fully vaccinated or received on jab in the last 3 weeks

Tradesmen from Covid affected Sydney LGAs can return to work on Wednesday if they’re fully vaccinated or received on jab in the last 3 weeks

Today tradies pick up their tools again after a three week ban on construction

Today tradies pick up their tools again after a three week ban on construction

Today tradies pick up their tools again after a three week ban on construction

Staff must also produce a negative Covid-19 test result within 72 hours, while construction sites are only permitted to operate at a 50 per cent capacity with stronger Covid-safe measures in place.

A mass vaccination hub has been set up for Sunday at Sydney Olympic Park to accommodate the 8,000 tradesmen who missed out on the jab in a desperate dash to get inoculated before the work-ban was lifted.  

Major Sydney infrastructure projects were put on hold including home renovations in the last three weeks, but the tougher rules have sparked criticism online, with users flocking to the 9News Facebook page to vent their outrage.

Workers must produce a negative Covid-19 result within a 72 hour period before returning to construction sites

Workers must produce a negative Covid-19 result within a 72 hour period before returning to construction sites

Workers must produce a negative Covid-19 result within a 72 hour period before returning to construction sites

‘This should be applied to all essential workers, why only construction workers? Police force and health workers should be treated the same way. Do not be bias, fair demonstrations of the law may be applied the same to all workers if that is so, even all the politicians,’ said one Australian.

‘Shouldn’t anyone working outside the building sector be jabbed too? Like cafes, McDonald’s and other food outlets, Woolworths Coles and Aldi workers just to name a few?’ Questioned another user.

Under tougher rules worksites can only operate at a 50% capacity with a stronger Covid-safe measures in place

Under tougher rules worksites can only operate at a 50% capacity with a stronger Covid-safe measures in place

Under tougher rules worksites can only operate at a 50% capacity with a stronger Covid-safe measures in place

‘So people out of the lockdown LGA’s can go to work without the jab, how does any of that make sense?’ Added another.

Workers from hotspot areas were forced to abandon worksites while tradesmen from other local government areas were allowed to return on July 31.

Sydney’s affected LGA’s areas include the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Cumberland and Blacktown, Parramatta, Georges River and Campbelltown. 

Tradies from hotspot areas were forced to abandon worksites while Tradesmen from other Local Government areas were allowed to return on July 31

Tradies from hotspot areas were forced to abandon worksites while Tradesmen from other Local Government areas were allowed to return on July 31

Tradies from hotspot areas were forced to abandon worksites while Tradesmen from other Local Government areas were allowed to return on July 31

This comes as a respiratory physician working at a busy western Sydney hospital revealed to The Sydney Morning Herald the reasons why he believes the virus continues to ravage the city’s south-west.

The top doctor argued the current outbreak had been triggered by a combination of language barriers, convoluted messaging from health officials and a general reluctance to get tested due to the consequences of a positive result.

This is because so many workers in the city’s south-west and west rely on a daily income to keep their families afloat and often work in critical industries that can’t work from home.

On Tuesday the city recorded a pandemic high of 356 new cases.  

Health authorities said 234 cases – almost two-thirds of the infections – were found in Sydney’s west and south-west, with the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA emerging over recent days as the new epicentre of the outbreak.

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