Australia, insurance, car, home, live, holidays

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet,with Health Minister Brad Hazzard (behind) announces changes to COVID isolation rules on Wednesday.Credit:Rhett Wyman

The country’s chief health officers and state officials last month recommended a “nationally consistent,risk-based transition” to easing rules for close contacts of COVID-19 cases to quarantine,following the peak of the latest Omicron wave driven by the highly transmissible BA.2 variant.

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said,that while NSW had passed the peak of the latest COVID-19 wave,the “plateau is quite flat,and the decline is quite slow”.

“So it is important[to acknowledge] that we are expecting the levels of transmission in the community to still be maintained at high levels,” Chant said.

Household contacts or people identified as close contacts by NSW Health will no longer have to isolate,and will instead be required to undertake daily rapid antigen tests,wear masks indoors when not at home and will be unable to visit aged care homes,hospitals and other vulnerable settings unless a special exemption applies.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet,Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Minister for Western Sydney Stuart Ayres as well as the chairman of Nepean Hospital Peter Collins (far left) take a tour of the newly completed 14-storey clinical services building at the Nepean Hospital.Credit:Rhett Wyman

People who test positive to COVID-19 via a PCR test or a RAT will still be required to isolate for seven days.

Public health orders requiring key workers,including aviation,teachers and health staff,to be vaccinated will be lifted but will instead be determined based on individual risk under occupational work health and safety rules.

The state’s remaining quarantine hotel operation will shut on April 30. Unvaccinated international travellers will no longer have to enter hotel quarantine and instead will need to take a RAT within 24 hours of arrival.

“We have to coexist with COVID-19,but we can’t ignore it,” Chant said. “The impact will most heavily fall on people with chronic underlying conditions and the elderly. We want to take a cautious and proportionate approach as we enter winter months when we will have flu circulating as well as COVID-19,” she said.

Chant said the overhaul to the rules were part of simplifying COVID measures as case numbers continued to decline and the state lives with the virus,but could not rule out reintroducing restrictions should cases surge or a more severe variant emerges.

“It is important to note that people can get reinfected and,whilst the vaccines are holding well,they don’t afford absolute protection,” Chant said.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet warned the removal of close contacts and hotel quarantine did not mark the “end of the pandemic” and said restrictions could always be brought back.

“We have put downward pressure on our health system and that is because of the efforts and sacrifices people have made,” Perrottet said.

“These isolation rules have been necessary but thanks to strong vaccination rates we can make the changes announced today.

“We will always tailor our restrictions,as we’ve said from the outset,to the circumstances we find ourselves in. We believe today’s announcements are balanced and proportionate,” he said.

NSW reported 15 COVID deaths on Wednesday and 15,414 new infections. Hospitalisations have risen in recent days,with 1639 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital,including 72 in intensive care units.

Stay across the most crucial developments related to the pandemic with the Coronavirus Update.Sign up for the weekly newsletter.

License this article