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People who leave Melbourne's COVID-19 hotspots and travel to NSW will be exposed to the possibility of six months jail or an $11,000 fine.
NSW Minister for Health Brad Hazzard says these new measures are "not something we want to do" but are necessary to protect the health and safety of NSW residents.
"The message quite clearly from the New South Wales Government is do not leave the hotspot," says Hazzard.
NSW residents who leave the State to visit a Victorian hotspot will be required to complete a 14-day period of isolation. If this order is breached, NSW residents could also face an $11,000 fine or a six month jail term.
"Take it seriously," says Hazzard.
"This is about keeping you safe, your family safe, your community safe, not just in the hotspots in Victoria but more broadly here in New South Wales.
"We are not going to accept having Victorians who failed to comply with their own laws and then try to slip across our border. If you are found here in New South Wales you face very heavy penalties."
The announcement comes as NSW recorded 14 new cases of COVID-19 overnight, all from returned travellers currently in hotel quarantine.
Victoria has recorded 73 new cases of COVID-19 today after the state's testing blitz surpassed 100,000 tests. Hotspot suburbs in Melbourne are preparing to enter into lockdown from midnight tonight following Premier Daniel Andrews' announcement yesterday afternoon.
In terms of new daily cases in Victoria linked to business locations, two are part of the Stamford Plaza outbreak, one is linked to the outbreak at the Coles Chilled Distribution Centre in Laverton which takes that total outbreak to six, three are linked to cases associated with Hugo Boss in Collins Street, one is a staff member at SBS Radio.
"Every day presents its own challenges and no one can predict what tomorrow's numbers will be, but it is pleasing that there is some sense of stability to these numbers," Premier Andrews noted in a press conference today.
Globally, COVID-19 confirmed case numbers continue to climb with 174,246 new cases confirmed for 30 June today.
Of the new cases, 46,042 were in the USA, 37,997 in Brazil, and 18,256 in India. There have now been 2,727,853 cases of COVID-19 confirmed in the USA since the pandemic began.
Restrictions ease today in NSW
Today, 1 July, NSW will also ease restrictions further, allowing more people to gather and stadiums to begin accepting fanatics to sporting or cultural events.
The restrictions eased today includes:
- Pubs, cafes, restaurants, and function spaces have no more capacity limit imposed, but must stick to the 4sqm rule;
- Weddings can have any number of people but with the 4sqm rule applied;
- 10,000 fans can go into a stadium;
- Public transport services capacities have increased;
- Cinemas, theatres, music halls and concert halls can open;
- Religious services can resume with the 4sqm rule applied;
- Libraries, museums and galleries can reopen.
The NSW Government still has no plans to reopen nightclubs or resume music festivals.
Updated at 11:27am AEST on 1 July 2020.
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