Premier Gladys Berejiklian has ushered in a raft of COVID-19 restrictions in response to the growing Eastern Suburbs cluster in Sydney.
The total active number of cases is 48 as of Thursday morning.
“Our government will take action today to limit the spread of what is a very contagious variant of COVID-19,” said Premier Berejiklian.
“We don’t take these steps lightly and we never want to impose restrictions unless we absolutely have to.”
Masks are now mandatory in all indoor settings in Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shell Harbour and must be worn by staff and customers, except when eating or drinking.
The four square metre rule has also been enforced across all venues and dancing and singing indoors has also been banned.
Patrons will have to be seated while drinking at indoor venues and outdoor seated events are limited to 50 per cent capacity.
A number of high-profile eateries have been named in a growing list of venues including Totti’s in Bondi and Matteo Double Bay.
Matteo will close for the next two days while the venue undergoes a deep clean, with staff requiring a negative COVID-19 test before they can return to work.
Meanwhile, restrictions will ease in Victoria for hospitality venues.
From 11:59pm Thursday 24 June, metro Melbourne restaurants, pubs and cafes can offer seated service with a maximum of 300 people in line with the 1 person per 4sqm rule.
Regional venues will work with a 1 person per 2sqm rule.
Image credit: James Wiltshire