As announced yesterday, the Public Health Order has been updated to introduce:
- stay at home orders for Byron, Kempsey and Tweed Local Government Areas (LGAs) for one week
- capacity rule changes for construction sites
- ‘friends bubble‘ for children to allow home visits.
Stay at home rules for Byron, Tweed and Kempsey LGAs
Anyone who has been in the following LGAs must follow the stay at home orders due to recent COVID-19 exposures:
- Byron LGA since 18 September
- Kempsey LGA since 14 September
- Tweed LGA since 18 September.
It’s important for businesses to remind their workers travelling to regional NSW from Greater Sydney and LGAs of concern, that travel permits are required. Stay at home restrictions also still apply for these workers, regardless of whether they are visiting areas not currently under stay at home orders.
Stay at home rules mean you must only leave home if you have a reasonable excuse. Visit nsw.gov.au for a full list of exemptions as well as testing clinics in the Byron, Kempsey and Tweed areas.
Changes to capacity rules for construction sites
From Monday 27 September, construction in Greater Sydney, including the Blue Mountains and Wollongong, can resume with all their workers on site. The following will also apply:
- construction sites in Greater Sydney will be limited to no more than 1 person per 4 square metre rule
- workers from LGAs of concern are authorised workers and can attend work if fully vaccinated.
Businesses need to have a COVID-19 Safety Plan to reopen and workers must comply with the current face mask rules. Encourage your employees to book their COVID-19 vaccination appointment as soon as possible so we can get back to business.
‘Friends bubble’ created for children to allow visits in time for school holidays
Children and teenagers aged 18 years and under are now able to create a ‘friends bubble‘ to allow home visits provided the adults in their homes are fully vaccinated.
These latest changes are aimed at giving children more opportunities to be together and balances COVID safety with their mental health and wellbeing.
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