NSW recorded zero new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, the 39th consecutive day without a locally acquired case. There were seven new cases in returning overseas travellers, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,973. More information here.

From 12.01am Friday 26 February, a number of COVID restrictions will be lifted across Greater Sydney and NSW. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced this week that from tomorrow:

• 50 visitors will now be allowed in the home;
• 30 people allowed to dance at weddings, with rotation on and off the dance floor;
• Increased class limits for gyms to 50 people (currently 30) subject to the 4sqm rule;
• Number of performers singing indoors increased to 30 (currently 5) subject to physical distancing requirements;
• Singing by congregants allowed in places of worship if masks are worn and subject to one person per 4sqm (currently no congregant singing allowed, with one per 2sqm permitted in places of worship);
• Increase capacity for cinemas to 100 per cent; and
• If current trends continue, drinking while standing up at indoor venues will be allowed in three weeks’ time (from Wednesday, 17 March). 

The Government has urged NSW residents to remain vigilant and get tested if they experience the mildest of symptoms. More information here.

Aged care residents, nurses and doctors, disabled support residents and hotel quarantine workers, were among the first Australians to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in NSW. Under the Australian Vaccination Strategy the COVID-19 Vaccine rollout begins with the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, and will include the AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine from March 2021. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine will be administered through hub and spoke hospital vaccination clinics in each state and territory, and in aged care and disability care facilities across the country. The number of hospital-based vaccination clinics will increase as more doses of our approved vaccines arrive in Australia. Details here.

The Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and Safe Work Australia (SWA) have released updated guidance for employers and employees about the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine in the workplace. As a guiding principle, both the FWO and SWA have stressed that the overwhelming majority of employers should assume they will not be able to require their employees to be vaccinated. Similarly, it is unlikely in the majority of circumstances that employees could refuse to come to work because, for instance, a colleague had not been vaccinated. That said, employers should be aware of any public health orders that may have been issued by relevant state and territory government health agencies that could require certain workers to be vaccinated in some high-risk industries. Details here.

The NSW Personal Injury Commission officially commences operation next Monday, 1 March 2021. The occasion will be marked by a Ceremonial Sitting at the District Court of NSW at 9.30am on that day. Due to pandemic capacity restrictions at the Court, the event is invitation-only, however the Commission welcomes you to view the event virtually via live stream. Click here to access the stream at 9.30am on Monday. The Personal Injury Commission replaces the Workers Compensation Commission and SIRA's Dispute Resolution Services with a single, independent tribunal for injured people claiming against the compulsory third party and workers compensation insurance schemes.

Travellers arriving in Australia from New Zealand face tighter restrictions in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania in response to a growing COVID-19 outbreak in Auckland. NSW Health is contacting travellers who have arrived from NZ since Saturday 20 February on quarantine-free flights to check if they have been to any new venues of concern attended by an infectious person. As a precaution, people who have arrived since Saturday 20 February are also being asked if they are well and are being asked to get tested for COVID-19 and isolate until they get a negative result, or for 14 days if they attended one of the venues. A notice is now in effect specifying Auckland as a hotspot. This requires people arriving in NSW from New Zealand who have been in Auckland, including the airport, to enter hotel quarantine for 14 days. Alternatively, they may choose to depart Australia. Read the NSW Health alert here.

QANTAS CEO Alan Joyce announced the airline has revised the earlier forecast of a July international travel resumption. In posting their half-yearly trading update, Mr Joyce said overseas travel will not restart until the end of October 2021 when the national vaccine rollout is expected to be complete, with the exception of a trans-Tasman flying schedule for July 2021. The airline is currently running at 8 per cent of international capacity through trans-Tasman and repatriation flights. Qantas has posted a $1.08 billion half-year loss, following a dramatic $6.9 billion plunge in revenue due to continued travel restrictions. More details here.

Applications have opened for Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations (ACCOs) to apply for funding to strengthen their support of Aboriginal communities impacted by COVID-19. Grants of up to $50,000 are available from Aboriginal Affairs NSW for ACCOs to provide culturally appropriate, locally-based support to address community wellbeing, education and employment issues, as well as buy supplies for compliance with COVID-safe guidelines. Interested applicants should contact their closest Aboriginal Affairs NSW office to discuss their project idea and the application process. More information is available here.

Australia’s AAA credit rating has been reaffirmed by Fitch, with Australia one of only nine countries to hold a AAA credit rating from all three major credit rating agencies. In its report, Fitch notes the Australian economy “has weathered the pandemic well compared with peers”, pointing to Australia’s “successful virus containment” and an “effective fiscal and monetary response consistent with a policy framework that has underpinned the economy's resilience to shocks over the medium term”. The report also reaffirms economic recovery is well underway, noting “Australia's labour market appears to be on a stable path to recovery” and forecast “the positive momentum to persist, with unemployment averaging 6.2 per cent in 2021 and 5.6 per cent in 2022” while acknowledging that temporary government support continues to taper off. More here.