NSW Police Commissioner, Mick Fuller, has announced that the COVID-19 lockdown laws will be lifted on 30 June.
NSW is the first state to provide a timeline for their social distancing measures.
Residents of NSW are currently facing on-the-spot fines of $1000 for disobeying social distancing laws. These restrictions include only leaving the house for essential purposes such as food or medical services, and public gatherings of no more than two people.
Fuller is confident that the three-month timeline will urge NSW residents to do the right thing as the state’s number of confirmed cases reaches 2298.
“I certainly won’t be seeking an extension, people will have gotten the message by then, hopefully,” he said.
While Victorians are facing similar social distancing restrictions, it has not yet been revealed how long these lockdown laws will last.
Victoria has now recorded 57 cases of community transmission and the death of a woman in her 70’s overnight brings the state’s death toll to five.
In this morning’s press conference, Victoria’s health minister, Jenny Mikakos said that the number of community transmissions could lead to “further measures” if Victorians don’t practice proper social distancing.
However, no timeframe was provided for how long these measures might last.
“We have to assess that on a day-by-day basis,” she said.
WA will also begin expanding their testing criteria for coronavirus, with the new eligibility criteria being rolled out today.
The new criteria will allow anyone to be tested who has a fever of 38 degrees Celsius or over, and who is showing signs of an acute respiratory infection such as a cough, sore throat or shortness of breath.
Despite Victoria recording over double the amount of confirmed cases in WA, Victoria’s testing criteria remains the same.
Victoria’s testing program includes the additional requirements that you need to have returned from overseas travel within the last 14 days or have been in close contact with a confirmed case.
It has not yet been advised whether Victoria will also look to expand their testing criteria.
Photo: NSW Police Force Traffic and Highway Patrol Assistant Commissioner John Hartley By Highway Patrol Images available HERE
