Category: Sydney

Australians Gather for Covid-19 Christmas

Australians have enjoyed relatively mild weather across the nation on Christmas Day, the first celebrated under the shadow of COVID-19. Most major capital cities were overcast with peak temperatures in the high teens to mid-20s, barring Perth which is in for a scorching 37C. Family gatherings were restricted in Sydney, where the pandemic’s impact is…


Woman Attacked With Meat Cleaver in Sydney

A 48-year-old woman is in a serious condition in hospital after a 17-year-old girl allegedly attacked her with a meat cleaver in Sydney’s west. Police say emergency services were called and found the woman with multiple injuries in the garden of a house at Westmead shortly after midnight on December 25. She was taken to…


Victoria Cracks Down on Aircrew Quarantine

Victoria has followed the lead of Queensland and New South Wales (NSW) by cracking down on a “loophole” that allowed international airline crew to avoid hotel quarantine. New laws make it mandatory for airline crews and technicians from international carriers transiting through Melbourne to enter the state’s rebooted hotel quarantine system. Under a previous exemption,…


Aussie Boxing Day Retail Splurge Expected

Australian shoppers are set to splurge a record $2.75 billion for what is expected to be the biggest Boxing Day sale in a decade. The National Retail Association (NRA) says it will be the biggest single spending day of the Christmas season as savvy shoppers take to the shops to hunt down a bargain. Online…


Sydneysiders Waiting to Hear Christmas Restrictions

Sydneysiders are set to learn what Christmas will look like as the NSW cabinet meets to decide the next steps to tackle a COVID-19 outbreak in the city’s northern beaches. Premier Gladys Berejiklian is set to announce on December 23 what restrictions will apply for gatherings on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Berejiklian…


Cancel Bookings Fast, Queensland Tells Sydney

The Queensland government is urging Sydneysiders to cancel their holiday bookings as soon as possible ahead of an expected rush of travellers from other states. Sydneysiders whose holiday plans have been dashed by Queensland’s border closure are being told to urgently cancel their bookings so others can snap them up. Queensland’s acting Tourism Minister Scott…


ACT Joins Australian States in Restricting Sydneysiders Amid NSW Cluster

The Australian Capital Territory has joined every state in Australia and the Northern Territory in slapping travel restrictions on greater Sydney, as an outbreak in the city continues to grow days out from Christmas. From midnight on Sunday, the ACT will require anyone coming from greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Illawarra-Shoalhaven and Nepean Blue Mountains…


South Australian Government Closes Border to Greater Sydney

The South Australian government will close its border to greater Sydney after a coronavirus cluster in the New South Wales capital jumped to 70 cases. Premier Steven Marshall says the border will close to Sydney from midnight on Sunday and checkpoints will be set up to test people for COVID-19 at the NSW road border…


Restrictions Reimposed in Sydney as Cluster Grows to 70 Cases

The New South Wales government has tightened restrictions after the COVID-19 cluster linked to Sydney ballooned to 70 cases. The state reported another 30 cases in the 24 hours to 9 a.m. on Sunday with 28 linked to the cluster on Sydney’s northern beaches. That takes the total number of known coronavirus cases in NSW…