Wednesday, 9pm, Sydney: Hundreds of students ignore social distancing to queue up outside a Double Bay pub for $5 drinks – sparking question ‘how many days until the city is locked down?’
- Hundreds of revellers defied public health warnings to queue up outside The Golden Sheaf in Double Bay
- Hordes of university students were seen crammed together on the street while waiting to enter the pub
- The Golden Sheaf holds a night targeted at uni students with $5 drinks and music till 1am every Wednesday
- A local captured a photo and posted it online with the caption: ‘How many days until Sydney is locked down?’
- It sparked speculation about when a second outbreak would hit Sydney, leading to another dreaded lockdown
- NSW on Wednesday recorded eight new COVID-19 cases, seven of which are travellers in hotel quarantine
- Melburnians return to a stay-at-home lockdown for six weeks to contain a second wave of cases in the state
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Hundreds of revellers have defied public health warnings to queue up outside The Golden Sheaf in Sydney’s exclusive Double Bay, sparking fears of a second coronavirus wave in the city.
Hordes of university students were seen crammed together on the street while waiting to enter the popular pub at about 9pm on Wednesday.
The Golden Sheaf holds a night targeted at university students with $5 drinks and music till 1am every Wednesday.
A furious local captured a photo of the packed queue and posted it online with the caption: ‘How many days until Sydney is locked down?’
The crowd of pub-goers quickly sparked speculation about when a second outbreak would hit Sydney, leading to another dreaded lockdown.
‘Looking at that picture I can smell the corona,’ one person wrote.
Hordes of university students were seen crammed together while lining up outside The Golden Sheaf in Double Bay, Sydney at 9pm on Wednesday
The crowd of pub-goers quickly sparked questions about when a second outbreak would hit Sydney, leading to another dreaded lockdown
‘As someone who lives in a place that is still pretty locked down, this photo makes me feel very anxious,’ said another.
‘I give it 7 days until lockdown to be honest,’ another comment read.
‘What part of social distancing don’t these people get?’
Others feared Sydney’s social distancing complacency would lead to the Queensland Government scrapping the NSW/Queesnland border opening set for tomorrow.
‘Queensland is due to allow NSW people into the state from Friday 10th. I wouldn’t be surprised if that idea gets canned,’ one person wrote.
Another witness said they drove past the popular venue two hours later, at 11pm, and the line ‘was just as long’.
NSW on Wednesday recorded eight new COVID-19 cases, seven of which are returning travellers in hotel quarantine.
The other was a woman in her 30s from southwest Sydney. Her case remains under investigation.
There are 454 active cases of COVID-19 in NSW.
The Golden Sheaf (pictured) holds a night targeted at university students with $5 drinks and music till 1am every Wednesday
The crowd of pub-goers quickly sparked speculation about when a second outbreak would hit Sydney, leading to another dreaded lockdown. Pictured: the Golden Sheaf dance floor prior to the pandemic
Gladys Berejiklian is considering drastic measures to stop community transmission from Victoria into NSW. Pictured: testing at Bondi Beach on Tuesday
It comes as Melburnians return to a stay-at-home lockdown for six weeks in a bid to contain a second wave of coronavirus cases in the state.
Residents in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, north of the city, can only leave their homes to get food and supplies, receive or provide care, exercise, and study or work.
Victoria registered another 134 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the second-highest daily total after a record 191 cases on Tuesday.
Of the state’s fresh cases, just 11 were linked to known outbreaks while 123 were under investigation on Wednesday.
More than 850 cases remain active, an increase of nearly 800 in a month. Victoria has a total of 2942 COVID-19 cases.
The NSW government is now considering establishing a border north of Albury to protect the state from the escalating COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday warned the widespread community transmission of COVID-19 in the southern state is a huge risk for NSW and urged residents in Albury and other border towns not to travel to other parts of the state.
‘I am extremely concerned about what is happening in Victoria, the extent of community contagion is unlike anything we have seen in Australia,’ she said.
Ms Berejiklian also flagged some COVID-19 health orders relating to gatherings will be tweaked in the coming days.
NSW Health chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant also noted a Victorian teenager holidaying in Merimbula on the southern NSW coast has tested positive for coronavirus.
Dr Chant said the teenager and his family were not from a Melbourne COVID-19 hot spot and were tested for the virus before they left the state.
They were advised the result was negative but after arriving in NSW were told there was an error and the result was actually positive, she said.
The family is isolating in Merimbula.
Victoria registered another 134 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the second-highest daily total after a record 191 cases on Tuesday. Pictured: Police question drivers at a checkpoint in Albury on Wednesday as the NSW-Victoria border closed