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SYDNEY: Sydney on Wednesday (Dec 23) eased closure restrictions for Christmas after Australia’s largest city reported a second day of new COVID-19 cases in single digits.
Amid a record testing and tracing effort, only eight new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, prompting authorities to announce that all residents could have at least a few visitors to celebrate the holiday period.
“The whole world has had a very difficult year,” said State Premier Gladys Berejiklian, announcing the “modest” reduction in restrictions in three days.
READ: Australian COVID-19 cluster slows to a five-day low
Berejiklian said that most Sydney residents would be allowed to invite 10 adults into their homes, and that number would be limited to five in the neighborhoods at the epicenter of the outbreak.
He said it was possible to relax the rules because of the low number of new cases (16 in the past 48 hours) and because most have been linked to known infections.
The eased restrictions are in stark contrast to many locations in Europe and elsewhere, which have been forced to tighten lockdown and travel rules as the spread of the virus accelerates.
The cluster of cases on Sydney’s North Beaches now stands at just under 100, after a prolonged period of no community transmission.
The outbreak has left the normally bustling city center empty, and residents have flocked to test sites in record numbers.
READ: Australia detects a new strain of coronavirus in the UK
“I have been very encouraged by the way the community has responded to what we have asked them to do,” said Berejiklian.
“The test numbers have been very nice. The way the northern beach community, in particular, has responded has been very positive.”
Despite the relaxation, he urged Sydney residents to use discretion.
“The last thing any of us want to do is pass the disease on without realizing it to the people closest and dear to us,” he said.
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