New South Wales has recorded 1,043 Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths

New South Wales has recorded 1,043 Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths with Sydneysiders expected to soon find out what life will look like once 80 per cent are double vaccinated.

The NSW Government will hold a crisis cabinet meeting on Friday to determine the freedoms on offer once that target is finally reached.

International travel and the easing of state border restrictions may be on the cards for those who’ve received both jabs along with community sport and large events.

Freedom Day could meanwhile come as early as October 11 with the state on track to hit 70 per cent double dosed sooner than expected. 

More than 56 per cent of over-16s are now fully vaccinated while 84 per cent have had at least one dose.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said in most of the LGAs of concern, 80 per cent of residents have now had one jab but warned opening up the state would be done cautiously to prevent an influx of cases being hospitalised.

New South Wales has recorded 1,043 Covid-19 cases and 11 deaths on Friday

‘I am always wary of using terms like ‘freedom day’ because when we start to open up it must be step-by-step,’ she said during Friday’s press conference. 

‘It must be done cautiously and we must remember that even though people may be fully vaccinated, if you are vulnerable and have other conditions you can still succumb and get the disease in a serious way, or worse.

‘So while we are all looking forward, [it’s] almost a gallop to the finish line in terms of the double dose, we need to make sure that what we do at 70 and 80 per cent is done cautiously and also moderately.’ 

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed cases in hot spots such as Canterbury Bankstown and Cumberland in Sydney’s south-west were now starting to decline but 103 infections had been recorded overnight in the Illawarra region.

Of the 11 deaths, ten people were unvaccinated while one had received both jabs. All had underlying health conditions.

One death was in a resident aged in their 40s, while two were in their 50s.

Another was aged in their 60s, while six were in their 80s and one was in their 90s. 

The majority of new cases recorded on Friday remain in Sydney’s LGAs of concern with 256 infections from south western Sydney and 211 from western Sydney.

Covid fragments have also been detected in areas not known to have any cases.

More than 56 per cent of over-16s in NSW are now fully vaccinated while 84 per cent have had at least one dose

These areas are Lightning Ridge in western NSW, Jindabyne in southern NSW, Crookwell in the Southern Tablelands, and South Lismore in northern NSW. 

Health minister Brad Hazzard confirmed on Thursday NSW residents can look forward to ‘cutting loose’ by Christmas and promised more freedoms for those vaccinated in the coming weeks. 

He also applauded struggling communities in Covid-riddled hotspots, where cases have plummeted in recent days. 

More to come.