Thanking residents who have turned out to help the state hits its target of six million jabs in arms, she said it’s no time to become complacent and has introduced tougher restrictions to stop people moving around and drive down the number of infections.
The new restrictions for local government areas of concern, such as Canterbury Bankstown, include a curfew from 9pm to 5am (except for authorised workers, emergencies or medical care) to help reduce the movement of young people; stay at home orders extended until the end of September; mandatory mask wearing when outside your home; outdoor exercise limited to one hour a day; and several larger retail premises now forced to close except for click and collect.
However, the new restrictions have angered many residents and Canterbury Bankstown Mayor Khal Asfour who says it’s time the Premier stepped aside and handed over to someone with fresh eyes.
“This is a ludicrous and confusing situation,” he said.
“She’s put us all on a driverless train heading for a steep cliff.”
The Premier also said she would make an announcement later this week about what fully vaccinated residents “would be able to do from the month of September”.
A vaccination blitz is also underway with people in the priority 16-to-39 years age group being encouraged to continue to roll up their sleeves to receive the free vaccination at locations such as Bankstown PCYC.
District Chief Executive Amanda Larkin says vaccination is a major step towards our lives starting to return to normal, to seeing our extended family members and friends again and to enjoying more freedoms in our daily activities.
She said that with so many young people getting vaccinated, it was “a great step forward to keep our community safe”.
