NSW WILL hit 80 per cent this weekend and open up further on Monday, Dom Perrottet announces 

Hotel quarantine will be scrapped in NSW and new freedoms will be restored on Monday as the state prepares to open up to the world on November 1, Premier Dominic Perrottet has announced.  

NSW is the first state in the country, working with the Commonwealth, to announce it will open up to travellers from overseas and scrap quarantine rules in two weeks. 

‘For double vaccinated people around the world, Sydney (and) NSW is open for business,’ Mr Perrottet said on Friday.

‘We want people back… Hotel quarantine is a thing of the past. We are opening Sydney and NSW to the world, and that date will come in on November 1.

‘We will work closely with the Commonwealth to ensure protections are in place so we keep people safe but rejoin the world. This is a significant day for our state.’

Mr Perrottet said from Monday house visitation limits will double from 10 to 20 and outdoor gatherings from 30 to 50. 

‘Standing up in pubs will be back. They will be no limits on weddings and funerals,’ he said. 

The 20-person cap on bookings at restaurants and other hospitality venues would also be scrapped from November 1. 

‘We have only been able to do this because of the significant effort of the people across New South Wales have made in getting us to this point,’ Mr Perrottet said.   

Travel from Sydney to regional NSW remains deferred until November 1, when it’s expected regional parts of the state will catch up to Sydney’s rate.  

NSW is quickly closing in on its 80 per cent of adults double vaccinated target as the state reports 399 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday

Some 77.4 per cent of adults have now received two doses of the vaccine with 80 per cent expected to be double-jabbed by Saturday

Deputy Liberal leader Stuart Ayres said fully vaccinated people would be able to return to Australia and go to their homes without the need to quarantine.  

‘That is not hotel quarantine, that is not home quarantine, you will be able to return home. If you are a person from another country who wants to visit or work in Australia, and you are fully vaccinated, you will be able to come to Australia and not have to quarantine,’ Mr Ayres said.

‘For those who are fully vaccinated, New South Wales says we welcome home every Australian overseas, we want tourism back, we want people back into work, we want to get our economy moving,’ Mr Perrottet said.  

The premier said ensuring people entering the state from overseas were fully vaccinated would be done in conjunction with the Commonwealth.

‘Nobody fully vaccinated will be able to come into Australia unless that evidence been clearly provided to Commonwealth authorities,’ he said. 

‘The Commonwealth government will be running that aspect of this program, but there is no reason as to why people right across the world who are fully vaccinated should need to hotel quarantine or home quarantine for two weeks.’ 

‘People won’t be able to fly to Australia unless they conduct a PCR test before departure and have a TGA-recognised vaccine and that vaccine status has been verified by the Commonwealth,’ Mr Ayres said.  

Unvaccinated people will still be required to hotel quarantine. 

‘People coming into New South Wales, if they are transiting on to another state, they’ll have to abide by restrictions in that state so if that state requires quarantining people coming from New South Wales, they will still have to abide by that,’ Mr Ayres clarified. 

‘This will create a chance for people to come to NSW through Sydney and will also present a huge opportunity for Australians who haven’t been able to access flights because of the caps that we put in place to protect our local health systems, that have kept us safe through the bulk of this pandemic, to really allow us to protect the community.   

Extra support for businesses in regional New South affected by the delay in opening up the rest of the state would be provided, Mr Perrottet announced.

‘The Job Centre payment which we are tapering off – we will extend that for regional New South Wales at 30 per cent of payroll until November 1,’ he said.  

Some 77.4 per cent of adults have now received two doses of the vaccine with 80 per cent expected to be double-jabbed by Saturday. More restrictions are then set to be eased on Monday. 

Among the changes include increasing the number of visitors allowed into a home, raising the cap on spectators allowed at major events and reopening nightclubs. 

Regional travel, which was expected to restart once the milestone was hit, has now been delayed until November 1.

Deputy premier Paul Toole explained the decision was prompted by low vaccination rates in country towns. 

‘I know it’s frustrating,’ he told 2GB on Friday. ‘I know it’s a very difficult time because I know that people are wanting to pack their bags.’

‘They’re wanting to go to regional NSW, they want to go on a holiday, they want to go and catch up with family and their loved ones.’ 

‘I know it’s not an easy decision that’s been made. We have a responsibility here to make sure we keep our regional community safe.’  

Residents will be allowed to invite up to 20 guests to their homes while small outdoor gatherings will be increased to 50 people. 

Major recreation facilities will be allowed to host 5,000 spectators while entertainment facilities can return to 75 per cent capacity.

Weddings and funerals will no longer have a cap on the number of guests allowed to attend the events. 

The eased restrictions will come after NSW quietly launched the vaccine passport overnight.

For those who have received both jabs and have the updated Service NSW app on their phones, their vaccine status will pop up when they check into a venue using the standard QR code process.

Sydneysiders earlier had to scroll through their Medicare app or carry a paper certificate to prove to staff they’d been jabbed but now a green tick will appear whenever they sign into a business.

Regional travel, which was expected to restart once the milestone was hit, has now been delayed until November 1

NSW is quickly closing in on its 80 per cent of adults double vaccinated target as the state reports 399 new cases of Covid-19 on Friday

For those wanting to take advantage of the new ‘VaxPass’ they will need to ensure their MyGov account account has been linked to Medicare.

Then either through the online MyGov site or the Express Plus Medicare app users are instructed to click ‘Proof of vaccinations’ and then ‘View history’.

They will then be given the option to choose their Covid vaccine digital certificate and link this with the Service NSW app.

Customer Service minister Victor Dominello tweeted a photo of his vaccine passport while checking into a cafe on Friday morning.

The system had earlier attracted criticism for not being ready when Sydney was finally freed from its gruelling four-month lockdown on Monday.

With the launch overnight, the vaccine passport was up and running three days earlier than Mr Dominello had planned, making it a whole lot easier for pub goers heading out for Friday night drinks.

Several security measures will be in place including a hologram of the NSW Waratah logo to help businesses ensure their customers are complying with the rules. 

Trials of the app had been carried out in clubs and aged care facilities in Port Macquarie, Tamworth, Wagga Wagga and Lismore.