New South Wales has become the first state to ease restrictions for unvaccinated people, despite a sharp surge in COVID-19 cases, including of the Omicron variant, in recent days.
The state of more than 10 million residents on Wednesday welcomed unvaccinated people out of lockdown - a move that has sparked concerns for vulnerable members of the community such as cancer survivor Marc Tilbrook.
“I try not to think about it too much. If you spend too long thinking about it, you'll drive yourself crazy,” said Mr Tilbrook, who is immunocompromised.
“I’m surprised that they’re still taking the current approach of reopening,” Mr Tilbrook's wife Nilanka added. “Given Omicron has come, there doesn't seem to be any change of plans,” she said.
While Mr Tilbrook has been cleared of his disease, he and Ms Tilbrook are concerned that a swift reopening could jeopardise his health once again.
“I understand you can't stay locked down indefinitely, [but] I think to some extent it would be better to proceed with a bit more caution,” Ms Tilbrook said.
From Wednesday, everyone in New South Wales regardless of their vaccination status only has to wear masks on public transport, at airports, or on a plane.
Caps on indoor and outdoor gatherings, gyms and hospitality venues have been lifted, and everyone is allowed into retail and entertainment venues.
QR code check-ins are still required for some venues such as hospitals, aged-care facilities, places of worship and gyms.
And travelling into regional and rural parts of the state is also be back on the cards for people who’re not vaccinated.
While masks are not mandatory, they are strongly encouraged in settings where you cannot social distance.
The reopening, ending more than six months of lockdowns and restrictions for unvaccinated residents, is a move Professor Peter Collignon said was bound to happen.
“My advice to people who are unvaccinated is go and get vaccinated. But at some time we have to go and let them do reasonably normal things. Particularly, if we have relatively low levels of spread in the community and, particularly, if we have high levels of vaccination,” Professor Collignon said.
The advice from health authorities to those who are worried about the reopening is, if you haven’t already and if you're eligible for it, go and get your booster shot.
In a statement, NSW Health said that at this stage of the pandemic, the onus is on every individual person to keep each other safe - especially our most vulnerable people.
Professor Collignon says the best way to minimise risk is to be cautious of your own actions.
“Everything we do has a risk, including [reopening to the unvacccinted]. The trouble is we can't have COVID zero. What we have to do is minimise the risk for everyone involved as much as is practicable and reasonable,” he said.
The lifting of restrictions - long-planned for 15 December- comes just as case numbers spike to a two-month high.
Some 804 people tested positive for COVID-19 in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, a 50 per cent increase on the previous day. They included 224 people in Newcastle, where super-spreading events at a nightclub and a pub have been identified.
Of the new cases, 21 were identified as Omicron infections, taking the total cases of the new variant to 85.
As for Mr Tilbrook and his family, they say they won't be taking any risks in the coming weeks.
“I’m going to keep wearing masks in closed spaces definitely and just avoid crowds in general,” Mr Tilbrook said.
With AAP.
For more information about cancer, including how to access support services, you can call the Cancer Council on 13 11 20 or visit cancercouncil.com.au.
