Don’t call off your wedding yet – because as of tomorrow, Friday, September 3, small wedding ceremonies will be allowed in NSW.

New Covid safety rules now means small wedding services will be allowed, but with no gatherings afterwards.

Read more news: New Korean dining restaurant opens in lockdown

Small weddings may be held outdoors, but not in domestic households.

Premises that can currently be open for a funeral can also be open for a small wedding.

Gatherings or receptions following the wedding service are not permitted.

Under the Order, a small wedding is a wedding of no more than five guests plus the wedding party (the two people getting married, two witnesses required for the marriage, one person conducting the service, and one person to record the wedding).

Wedding restrictions

There are a number of restrictions concerning who may attend the wedding service:

• a person who lives in regional NSW can only attend a wedding in Greater Sydney if they are part of the wedding party or the parent, child or sibling of one of the persons getting married;
• a person who lives in Greater Sydney cannot attend a wedding service, as part of the wedding party or as a guest, outside of Greater Sydney;
• a person who lives in Greater Sydney, but not in an area of concern, can only attend a wedding in an area of concern if they are part of the wedding party or the parent, child or sibling of one of the persons getting married;
• a person who lives in an area of concern can only attend a wedding outside the area of concern in which they live if they are part of the wedding party or the parent, child or sibling of one of the persons getting married.

Record number of cases

The good news about weddings comes after a record number of Covid cases were reported yesterday in NSW, with 1288 cases of community transmission, and seven deaths. Of the hospitalised Covid cases in NSW, 160 are in ICU and 64 require ventilation.

Over the last two days, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has continued to elaborate on what the future might would like as restrictions ease over the next few weeks.

Milestone

Today, the Premier announced that NSW is first State to hit the 70% first dose vaccination milestone.

“Thanks to people for hearing the messages and coming forward to get vaccinated,” she said.

With the target of having 70% of the population fully vaccinated by mid-October arriving faster than hoped, Ms Berejiklian forsees an opening up of international travel for Australians by November - once vaccination rates reach 80%.

“Then we can welcome as many Australians home as possible to join their loved ones here in Australia for a happy Christmas,” she said.

Freedoms

Other freedoms we can expect if vaccination targets are reached include being able to have a meal out or go to a ticketed event.

“At 70%, the freedoms are for fully vaccinated people only,” she said.

“It is safer for a family to have a meal in a restaurant than having non vaccinated visitors in their own home who may not be vaccinated.”

The Premier said that the national plan for the way forward to opening up the country again is being formulated.

Once opened up again, she said there will still be restrictions such as: density requirements, QR codes check ins, validation of vaccination and mask wearing some restrictions.

“But compared to life now, it will be much better,” she said.

NSW/Qld border bubble

When it came to the NSW and Queensland border bubble, the Premier placed the responsibility on the Queensland Government.

“We know that in Northern NSW, there have been barely any cases in months and that both sides of the border live as one community,” she said.

“I hope the Queensland Government considers this and shows compassion and pragmatism."

National road map

With the national road map now under formulation to show the way to open the country back up out of lockdown, Mr Berejiklian said she hopes the States pull together and stick to the national plan, because eventually, every State will have to live and deal with Covid.

Local cases

Northern NSW Local Health District reported yesterday there are no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in local district residents. 

With regard to the areas of concern in Casino, a spokesperson said further investigations revealed that a visitor from outside the District was not a positive COVID-19 case and was not

infectious in the Casino area as originally advised. Read more: Northern NSW LHD declare Casino COVID case was not infectious

“Comprehensive contact tracing has established that this person acquired their infection in the days after leaving Northern NSW on Saturday 21 August, upon returning to Sydney.

“There is no risk to the community from this person’s presence in the region.

“Public Health teams take a precautious approach to risk and possible exposure sites when a case is first identified during initial investigations.  

“We appreciate the community’s responsiveness in the wake of these concerns.  

“A significant number of people have been tested today at Muli Muli Aboriginal Community. In light of the current COVID-19 outbreak in broad regions of the state, this increased testing is a positive step.  

Sewage surveillance

As part of the ongoing sewage surveillance program providing an extra layer of warning for any undetected cases across NSW, additional sewage treatment plants are being included in the testing program from this week, including sites in Alstonville, Wardell, Evans Head, Coraki, Woodenbong and Kyogle.  

NNSWLHD said it will continue to review targeted sites in collaborating with local councils and the NSW Health water unit.  

Any positive detections of fragments are reported through the daily NSW Heath updates and online at https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/stats-nsw.aspx.