The current temporary COVID-19 restrictions will cease at 11:59pm, so just before midnight tonight as NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

There has been confusion in the community voiced on social media with some people saying it is 12 midday today, this is not correct. The restrictions will officially ease at 11:59 tonight Monday, April 5.

Three new cases were acquired overseas, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,114.

There were 7,973 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 6,249. Many testing clinics remain open over the Easter break. If you have any symptoms of COVID-19, please do not wait to get tested, but check online before attending a clinic, as opening hours may vary.

NSW Health administered 30,253 vaccines in the week ending Sunday 4 April. Of these, 18,077 were first doses and 12,176 were second doses. The total number of vaccines administered by NSW Health is now 126,526.

NSW Health’s vaccination clinics generally operate Monday to Friday. Therefore, there may be limited vaccines administered on weekend days and public holidays due to planned closures.

NSW Health reminds the community that the ending of these temporary restrictions has no impact on the self-isolation requirements for the large number of people in these areas who are close contacts. They must continue to isolate for the full 14 days from their date of exposure and get tested again at the end of this period.

NSW Health thanks the community for isolating when required, co-operating with the temporary restrictions and for coming forward for testing in great numbers.

More than 10,000 people have presented for testing since it was confirmed Queensland cases had visited Byron Bay venues while infectious from 26-28 March.

This represents a ten-fold increase in COVID-19 testing when compared to numbers achieved in the region in the previous corresponding period.

These efforts have provided us with the confidence to lift the restrictions, but we are still in a period of increased risk and we urge the community to remain vigilant for the next week. NSW Health is closely monitoring the situation and will adjust our public health advice accordingly if required.

Though mask-wearing will no longer be mandatory from tomorrow, NSW Health continues to strongly recommend that people in the Northern Rivers area wear masks in public indoor settings, particularly those where physical distancing is difficult.

It is critical that people continue to practise COVID-safe behaviours and come forward for testing with even the mildest of symptoms. Keeping high testing rates in the area is vital to detect any potential transmission in the community and prevent the virus from spreading further. After getting tested, people must isolate until they receive a negative result.

Lismore has three COVID testing clinics but only two are open today Easter Monday. Lismore Base Hospital is open between 9am and 6:30pm while the Keen Street drive-through clinic (354 Keen Street near the Albert Park fields) is open between 8am and 4pm.

The third clinic at Lismore Sullivan Nicolaides Pathology in the East Lismore shops on Wyarallah Road will be open tomorrow between 7am and 5pm.

NSW Health has also significantly increased sewage surveillance in the Northern Rivers area. There was a detection of virus fragments in the treatment plant at Lennox Head in a sample taken on 30 March.

This was due to the presence of a known positive case in the area. There was no detection in the most recent sample taken on 1 April. Other catchments, including Byron Bay, Tweed, Lismore and Ballina, have all tested negative in recent days.

The temporary restrictions were introduced from 5pm on 31 March in a bid to minimise any risk of the highly infectious COVID-19 variant of concern being transmitted in the local area, as well as across NSW and other states and territories. Infectious Queensland travellers had attended a number of venues in the Byron Bay area and a locally acquired case was infected at one of these venues.

NSW Health is treating 39 COVID-19 cases, none of whom are in ICU. Most cases (95 per cent) are being treated in non-acute, out-of-hospital care, including returned travellers in the Special Health Accommodation.